REPORT  of 


The  State 


Si  School  Code  Commission 


of    KANSAS 


;SfTV 


1922 


PRINTED     BY     KANSAS    STATE     PRINTING     PLANT 

B.    P      WALKER,    STATE     PBINTfR 

TOPEKA     1922 

•p     I 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


***»9l9to 


Hs 


LB 
£5£9     Kansas. 
"X13K1      ScfiooI~coae 


"nmrni ctqi nn 


Southern  Branch 
of  the 

University  of  California 

Los  Angeles 

Form  L   1 

£5£9 


X  'jj  'asnaBJiCg 


REPORT 


OF 


THE  STATE 
SCHOOL  CODE  COMMISSION 

NCR 
ORNIA 

LIBRARY 

LOS  ANGELES.  CALIF. 

KANSAS 


1922 


PRINTED     BY    KANSAS    STATE     PRINTING     PLANT 

B.     P.    WALKER.     STATE      PRINTER 

TOPEKA      1922 

9-4558 


77536 


L 


V-O3V0 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


To  His  Excellency,  the  Governor  of  Kansas,  and  to  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Kansas: 
Sirs — The  State  School  Code  Commission  was  established  by  you 
under  House  Joint  Resolution  No.  2,  passed  by  the  last  regular 
session  of  the  legislature.    The  text  of  the  resolution  follows : 

HOUSE  JOINT  RESOLUTION  No.  2. 

A  Resolution  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  State  School 
Code  Commission. 

pv        W  hereas,  Owing  to  the  rapid  growth  of  the  state  and  its  effort  to  keep 
^  abreast  of  the  times  in  the  matter  of  the  education  of  its  youth,  the  school 

laws  of  Kansas  are  in  hopeless  confusion,  with  many  overlapping  activities, 
A.  resulting  in  a  loss  of  efficiency  and  a  failure  to  derive  the  most  benefit  from 
a.  the  moneys  expended;  and 

Whereas,  To  get  order  out  of  confusion  and  to  provide  an  efficient  system 

which  will  render  the  most  service  for  the  money  expended,  is  an  undertaking 

which  requires  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  all  of  the  school  laws  of  Kansas, 

and  also  of  the  profession  of  education;  and 

Whereas,  This  matter  has  been  drawn  to  the  attention  of  the  legislature 

by  the  governor  in  his  message,  and  the  legislature,  owing  to  the  demand  upon 

its  time  during  the  short   session,  is  not  able  to   cope   efficiently  with   the 

problem :    Now  therefore, 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Senate  concurring  therein: 
Section  1.    That  a  School  Code  Commission  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
^  appointed,  whose  duty   it  shall  be  to  make  a  study  of  the  school  laws  of 
^  Kansas,  the  school  system  of  Kansas  and  other  states,  and  the  needs  of  Kansas 
in  educational  matters;  and  to  present  to  the  next  legislature  a  report  con- 
taining recommendations  as  to  amendments  and  changes  in  the  Kansas  law> 
which  will  eliminate  the   overlapping  in  activities,  which   will   render  more 
efficient   the  school  system   of  Kansas,   and   to  recommend   changes   therein 
which  will  promote  the  cause  of  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Kansas. 

Sec.  2.   The  School  Code  Commission  shall  consist  of  seven  members,  two 
of  whom  shall  be  members  of  the  Senate  who  shall  be   appointed   by   the 
president   of  the  Senate,  two  of  whom  shall  be   members  of  the   House  of 
Representatives  who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  speaker  thereof,  two  of  whor- 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  and  one  of  whom  shall  be  named  by  th 
state  superintendent  of  public  instruction. 

Sec.  3.  On  the  3rd  day  of  May,  1921,  or  on  the  next  day  thereafter,  at 
10  o'clock  a.  m.,  the  School  Code  Commission  shall  meet  in  the  office  of  the 
governor  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  an  organization.  The  School  Code  Com- 
mission shall  have  authority  to  make  its  own  rules  and  regulations  and  to 

(3) 


4  State  School  Code  Commission. 

determine  the  method  of  its  procedure.  Each  member  of  the  School  Code 
Commission  who  shall  at  the  time  of  service  thereon  be  receiving  a  stated 
salary  from  the  state,  or  from  any  county,  or  from  any  school  district,  shall 
not  be  allowed  per  diem,  but  the  other  members  shall  receive  as  full  compen- 
sation the  sum  of  $10  per  day  for  each  day's  actual  service  in  attending  meet- 
ings of  the  commission.  Each  member  shall  in  addition  thereto  receive  all 
actual  and  necessary  traveling  expenses. 

Sec.  4.   This  resolution  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after 
its  publication  in  the  official  state  paper. 

Approved  March  2,  1921. 

Published  in  official  state  paper  March  5,  1921. 

In  conformity  to  this  resolution  there  were  appointed  by  the 
respective  appointive  powers  the  following  members  of  this  Com- 
mission: Senator  J.  M.  Johnson,  Hiawatha;  Senator  Paul  H.  Kim- 
ball, Parsons;  Representative  Ida  M.  Walker,  Norton;  Representa- 
tive Minnie  J.  Grinstead,  Liberal ;  Honorable  Sheffield  Ingalls,  Atchi- 
son; Professor  C.  E.  Rarick,  Hays;  Senator  M.  V.  B.  Van  De  Mark, 
Concordia. 
We  herewith  submit  the  following  report. 
Respectfully, 

The  State  School  Code  Commission. 
Sheffield  Ingalls,  Chairman. 
J.  M.  Johnson,  Secretary. 
Paul  H.  Kimball. 
Ida  M.  Walker. 
Minnie  J.  Grinstead. 
M.  V.  B.  Van  De  Mark. 
C.  E.  Rarick. 
September  25,  1922. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAOB 

Letter  of  Transmittal 3 

Introduction    7 

Summary  of  Recommendations 8 

PART  I. 

Detailed  Recommendations  to  the  Legislature 9-23 

Districting — Three  Types  of  Districts — How  These  New  Districts  Should  Be 
Formed  (The  Common  School  District,  The  Community  School  District,  The  City 
School  District) — Property  and  Obligations — Officers — Provisions  for  Schools  in 
Session — The  Financial  Support  of  Schools — A  County  Unit  of  Taxation  (outside 
of  cities) — Support  of  City  Schools  Districts — -Constitutional  Amendment  Revising 
Our  System  of  Taxation — The  County  Board  of  Education — The  State  Depart- 
ment of  Education — The  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — The  State 
Board  of  Education — Officers  and  Assistants — School  Buildings — Certification  of 
Teachers — Vocational  Education — Lengthening  the  School  Term — Transportation 
for  School  Children. 

PART  II. 
Arguments  in  Support  of  the  Recommendations 24-51 

Districting — Financing  Education — County  Boards  of  Education — State  Depart- 
ment of  Education — School  Building  and  Sites — Certification  of  Teachers — Voca- 
tional Education — Lengthening  of  the  School  Term — Transportation  for  School 
Children. 

PART  III. 
Data  Bearing  Upon  the  Recommendations 52-76 

Number  and  Size  of  Schools  of  Various  Types — Comparative  Cost  of  Schools- 
Comparative  Taxation  Rates  and  Property  Valuations — Achievement  of  Pupils  in 
Schools  of  Various  Types — County  Organization  and  Administration — State  Or- 
ganization and  Administration  —  School  Building  Regulations  —  Certification  of 
Teachers — Training,  Experience,  Salaries  and  Tenure  of  Teachers — Standing  of 
Kansas,  Educationally. 


LIST  OF  PLATES  AND  CHARTS. 

PAGB 

Plate  1 — Rural  school  districts,  Lyon  county 27 

Plate  2 — Rural  district  No.  91,  Marion  county 28 

Plate  3 — Rural  and  small-town  districts,  Crawford  county 29 

Plate  4 — Joint  rural  district  No.  27,  Gray  county 30 

Plate  5 — Allen  rural  high-school  district,  Lyon  county. . .  .• 31 

I  Plate  6 — Ingalls  rural  high-school  district,  Gray  county 32 

•Plate  7 — Cost  graph  based  on  enrollment 35 

i Plate  8 — Comparisons  of  mill-tax  levies  and  valuations 37 

Chart  1 — Teachers  employed,  Kansas,  1919-'20 54 

Chart  2 — Number  pupils,  Kansas  census,  1919-'20 54 

Chart  3 — Average  length  school  term,  Kansas,  1919-'20 54 

Chart  4 — Cost  per  month  per  pupil  enrolled,  Kansas,  1919-'20,  elementary 

schools  and  high  schools 55 

Chart  5 — Annual  cost  per  pupil  enrolled  in  one-room  rural  schools,  Kan- 
sas, 1919-'20  56 

Chart  6 — Average  cost  per  pupil  enrolled  in  Kansas  high  schools 56 

Chart  7 — Taxable  property  per  pupil  in  average  daily  attendance,  Kan- 
sas, 1920-'21  ; 58 

(5) 


6  State  School  Code  Commission. 

Chart  8 — School  tax  levy  in  mills,  Kansas,  1920-'21 58 

Chart.  9 — Valuation  per  pupil  in  high  schools 58 

Chart  10 — Pupil  achievement,  Spelling 60 

Chart  11 — Pupil  achievement,  Silent  Reading 61 

Chart  12 — Pupil  achievement,  Addition    62 

Subtraction   63 

Multiplication  64 

Division  65 

Chart  13 — Pupil  achievement,  Written  Composition 66 

Chart  14 — Pupil  achievement,  Handwriting 67 

Chart  15 — Comparison  of  Costs  of  State  Departments  of  Education 71 

Chart  16 — Training  of  Teachers  in  Elementary  Schools 75 

Chart  17 — Salary  of  Women  Elementary  Teachers 75 


INTRODUCTION. 


At  the  appointed  time  and  place  the  Commission  met  and  thereaftel 
organized  by  electing  Hon.  Sheffield  Ingalls,  of  Atchison,  chairman,  and  Senator 
J.  M.  Johnson,  of  Hiawatha,  secretary. 

Since  date  of  organization  the  Commission  has  held  numerous  meetings  and 
hearings  in  Topeka.  Members  of  the  Commission  have  attended  educational 
gatherings  both  within  and  without  the  state  for  the  purpose  of  careful  study 
of  educational  problems  as  they  affect  Kansas.  They  avail  themselves  of  this 
opportunity  of  thanking  the  many  friends  of  education  throughout  the  country 
who  have  contributed  much  towards  the  preparation  and  completion  of  this 
report. 

We  are  especially  indebted  to  the  State  Department  of  Education  for  access 
to  important  records  and  to  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
for  much  valuable  aid.  We  are  also  under  obligations  to  the  research  com- 
mittee of  the  Kansas  State  Teacher's  Association  composed  of  Dr.  F.  J.  Kelly, 
dean  of  university  administration,  Lawrence,  Prof.  W.  H.  Carothers,  head  of 
department  of  educational  administration,  State  Normal  School,  Emporia,  and 
Supt.  L.  W.  Mayberry,  of  the  Wichita  city  schools.  This  committee  has  ren- 
dered invaluable  aid  to  the  state  of  Kansas.  Its  members  have  shown  a  mar- 
velous grasp  of  educational  needs  and  methods  and  have  given  the  Commis- 
sion splendid  cooperation.  A  large  part  of  the  data  upon  which  this  report  is 
based  was  produced  by  them  and  many  facts  and  figures  concerning  educa- 
tional conditions  in  Kansas  heretofore  unknown  have  been  secured  through 
their  labors.  To  this  committee  and  to  all  friends  of  education  who  have 
assisted  us  we  take  this  means  of  expressing  our  sincere  appreciation. 

It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  Commission  from  the  beginning  to  follow 
the  rule  of  unit  action,  hence  the  recommendations  herein  offered  are  made 
with  unanimous  approval. 

We  recognize  that  many  of  the  specific  suggestions,  from  practical  necessity, 
will  need  to  be  adjusted.  However,  it  is  our  opinion  that  the  principles  upon 
which  this  report  are  founded  should  be  recognized  and  accepted  as  a  guide 
to  whatever  legislation  may  be  enacted  by  the  legislature  toward  the  im- 
provement of  the  public-school  system  of  Kansas.  We  submit  them  for  con- 
sideration by  the  legislature,  with  the  confident  hope  and  expectation  that 
they  will  be  given  careful  thought  and  attention  and  that  suitable  laws  will 
be  enacted  to  make  them  effective. 

(7) 


SUMMARY  OF  RECOMMENDATIONS. 


I.  A  new  districting  plan  whereby  the  rural  districts  shall  have  the  benefits 
of  more  efficient  teaching  and  supervision,  and  high  schools  shall  be  guaran- 
teed adequate  support. 

II.  The  financial  support  of  schools,  including  a  county  unit  of  taxation 
(outside  of  cities)  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  support  of  education  in  order 
to  avoid  the  gross  inequalities  of  burden  now  imposed. 

III.  A  constitutional  amendment  making  possible  a  more  equitable  system 
of  taxation. 

IV.  A  county  board  of  education  for  laying  out  district  boundaries,  for  de- 
termining boundaries  of  districts  already  formed  and  for  levying  a  county 
school  tax. 

V.  Setting  high  qualifications  for  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction, 
increasing  the  salary  of  that  office,  and  substituting  a  lay  board  of  education 
for  the  present  professional  board. 

VI.  Providing  for  approval  of  school  building  plans. 

VII.  Raising  the  requirements  of  teachers'  certificates. 

VIII.  Extending  the  scope  of  vocational  education. 

IX.  Lengthening  the  school  term. 

X.  Transportation  for  school  children. 

(S) 


Part  I. 

DETAILED  RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  THE 
LEGISLATURE. 


I.    DISTRICTING. 

After  an  extended  study  of  school  conditions  in  Kansas  the  Commission  has 
decided  to  recommend  first  of  all  a  new  districting  plan  for  the  state. 

It  recommends  that  the  community  become,  in  general,  the  unit  of  school 
organization.  In  some  instances  where  the  topography  of  the  country,  the 
sparsity  of  settlement,  or  some  other  cause  may  require  it,  the  one-teacher  type 
of  school  district  must  continue;  wherever  possible,  however,  it  is  the  unani- 
mous opinion  of  the  Commission  that  the  community  should  be  the  basis  of 
organization.  Community  interests,  together  with  community  support,  should 
remove  in  a  large  measure  the  artificial  relations  now  existing  in  practically  all 
of  the  present  school-district  organizations  in  the  state. 

In  this  connection  it  might  be  well  to  emphasize  that  the  plan  suggested 
does  not  contemplate  the  abandonment  of  any  school,  either  elementary  or 
high;  it  does  mean  in  most  instances  the  enlargement  of  the  unit  of  school 
organization.  An  increase  in  the  size  of  a  school  district,  or  a  change  in  school 
organization,  is  not  to  be  confused  at  all  with  the  abandonment  of  any  school. 
A  large  school  district  may  have  a  number  of  schools  in  operation  within  its 
territory.  This  is  the  case  in  practically  every  large  city  in  the  state.  The 
city  is  the  unit  of  taxation  and  the  unit  of  school  administration,  but  it  does 
not  limit  its  school  operations  to  a  single  building.  Many  rural  communities 
might  well  consider  some  of  their  conditions  parallel  to  those  of  the  city. 

An  enlarged  unit  of  school  organization  for  rural  communities  would,  in 
the  judgment  of  the  Commission,  make  school  support  and  school  administra- 
tion far  more  satisfactory.  The  operation  of  any  particular  school,  or  schools, 
within  the  boundaries  of  any  district  would  remain,  as  now,  subject  to  the  de- 
termination of  the  people  themselves. 

The  size  of  the  state  and  the  varied  conditions  found  therein  make  it  some- 
what difficult  to  formulate  a  districting  plan  that  will  meet  all  its  needs,  yet  it 
is  hoped  that  the  following  will  be  elastic  enough  to  meet  the  present  emer- 
gency in  the  educational  progress  of  our  state. 

THREE  TYPES  OF  DISTRICTS. 

It  is  recommended  that  all  school-district  organizations  of  every  character 
now  existing  in  the  state  be  succeeded  by  one  of  three  types  of  districts,  viz.: 
The  Common-School  District,  the  Community  School  District,  or  the  City 
School  District. 

The  Common-School  District  should  be  any  school  district  that  offers  only 
elementary-school  instruction. 

The  Community  School  District  should  be  any  school  district  which  offers 

(9) 


10  State  School  Code  Commission. 

both  elementary  and  high-school  instruction,  but  which  does  not  contain  a  city 
of  the  first  or  second  class. 

The  City  School  District  should  be  any  school  district  containing  a  city  of 
the  first  or  second  class. 

"Elementary-school  instruction"  and  "high-school  instruction"  in  this  con- 
nection should  be  defined  by  a  State  Board  of  Education,  whose  appointment 
and  duties,  as  planned  by  this  Commission,  will  be  explained  later. 

HOW  THESE  NEW  DISTRICTS  SHOULD  BE  FORMED. 
1.   The  Common-school  District. 
The  common-school  district  should  consist  of:    (a)  one-teacher  school  dis- 
tricts of  all  types,  or  (b)  all  other  school  districts  that  offer  elementary-school 
instruction  only. 

The  foregoing  districts  should  become  common-school  districts  and  remain 
common-school  districts  with  their  boundaries  as  they  now  exist,  subject  to 
change  by  action  of  a  County  Board  of  Education,  whose  origin  and  authority 
will  be  explained  later  in  this  report. 

2.   The  Community  School  District. 

The  community  school  district  should  consist  of  any  school  district  within 
the  state  which  offers  both  elementary  and  high-school  instruction,  but  which 
does  not  contain  a  city  of  the  first  or  second  class. 

It  would  hardly  seem  necessary  in  this  connection  to  discuss  the  relationship 
of  the  community  school  district  to  elementary  education.  The  conditions, 
however,  of  secondary  education  make  it  necessary  for  the  Commission  to 
discuss  this  phase  of  school  work,  since  the  community  school  district,  under 
this  new  districting  plan,  would  replace  all  kinds  of  high  schools  outside  of 
cities  of  the  first  and  second  classes. 

The  high-school  situation  in  Kansas,  both  as  to  organization  and  support, 
is  complicated  and  generally  unsatisfactory.  The  various  types  of  high 
schools,  with  their  overlapping  organizations,  the  growing  costs  of  maintenance 
and  the  increasing  demands  of  the  people  for  secondary  school  opportunities 
have  made  and  are  making  the  high-school  problem  a  difficult  one. 

There  are  twenty-seven  counties  in  Kansas  that  are  now  operating  under 
the  county-high-school  law.  These  counties  support  a  single  high  school  by 
a  county-wide  tax  and  children  from  the  entire  county  are  eligible  to  en- 
rollment therein.  Statutory  provision  has  recently  been  made  for  returning 
to  other  accredited  high  schools  within  these  counties  the  portion  of  the  county 
high-school  tax  raised  by  these  local  districts. 

There  are  forty  counties  in  the  state  operating  under  what  is  known  as  the 
Barnes  high-school  law.  This  law  provides  also  for  a  county-wide  tax  for  high- 
school  purposes  and  authorizes  its  distribution  among  the  accredited  high 
schools  of  the  county. 

In  the  remaining  thirty-eight  counties  of  the  state  the  county-tuition  law 
provides  a  county  fund  raised  from  that  portion  of  the  county  outside  of  dis- 
tricts maintaining  a  high  school,  for  the  payment  of  tuition  for  children  not 
living  in  a  high-school  district,  but  enrolled  in  a  high  school. 

Another  type  of  high  school  that  is  quite  common  now  in  the  state  is  the 
rural  high  school.     This  type  of  high  school  is  organized  along  community 


Recommendations  to  the  Legislature.  11 

lines  in  some  instances,  but  in  others  that  principle  has  been  disregarded. 
There  are  probably  not  less  than  three  hundred  rural  high  schools  distributed 
throughout  the  state  and,  of  course,  found  within  the  counties  having  the 
various  forms  of  county-wide  taxation  for  high-school  purposes. 

There  are  also  two  other  types  of  high  schools  legally  possible  in  Kansas. 
They  are  the  district  high  school  and  the  city  high  school.  The  district  high 
school  is  found  in  villages  or  small  towns,  third-class  cities,  and  in  union  or 
consolidated  school  districts.  The  city  high  school,  as  its  name  implies,  is 
found  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second  classes  and  is  supported  usually  by  the 
city  school  district,  although  there  are  quite  a  number  of  these  schools  that 
receive  support  from  Barnes  high-school  county  funds  or  from  county  high- 
school  tuition  funds  or  are  assisted  by  the  fact  that  the  county  high  school 
is  located  within  it,  and  a  city  high  school  is  therefore  not  necessary. 

Out  of  this  complicated  situation  the  Commission  has  sought  to  find  a  few 
principles  that  might  assist  in  clarifying  matters  and  in  guiding  to  a  practical 
solution.    It  feels  that  the  following  statements  can  hardly  be  questioned: 

1.  The  territory  of  any  local  taxing  district  shoidd  not  lie  wholly  within,  or 
even  partly  within,  the  taxing  area  of  any  other  local  district. 

2.  No  territory  should  lie  in  a  local  taxing  district  when  it  is  too  remote 
from  the  school  building  of  the  district  to  receive  service  from  that  school. 

3.  In  general,  any  financial  support  received  by  a  local  district  outside  of  its 
local  school  tax  should  come  from  a  county-wide  tax,  and  every  local  district 
within  the  county  should  have  an  equitable  share  therein. 

The  Commission  believes  that  the  solution  of  the  high-school  problem  lies 
in  the  community  school.  In  order  that  no  misunderstanding  may  arise,  the 
district  organizations  that  would  be  succeeded  by  the  community  school  dis- 
trict are  definitely  stated.    The  community  school  district  should  consist  of: 

(a)  Consolidated  or  union  school  districts  offering  high-school  instruction. 

(b)  Other  school  districts  offering  high-school  instruction,  including  open- 
country,  village,  and  third-class  city  schools  which  offer  high-school  instruc- 
tion. 

(c)  Rural  high-school  districts,  with  the  following  modifications: 

1.  The  one-teacher  school  districts  lying  wholly  within,  or  the  greater 

part  of  whose  area  lies  within,  the  boundaries  of  a  rural  high- 
school  district  should  become  a  part  of  the  community  school 
district.  (However,  all  the  schools  lying  within  this  territory 
should  continue  to  operate  unless  abandoned  by  vote  of  the 
qualified  electors.) 

2.  If  one-half,  or  more,  of  the  area  of  any  one-teacher  school  district 

lies  outside  the  boundaries  of  a  rural  high-school  district,  then 
that  district,  as  a  whole,  should  remain  a  common-school  district, 
and  no  part  of  it  should  become  a  part  of  the  newly-formed  com- 
munity school  district  without  due  process  of  law. 

3.  When  any  one-teacher  school  district  lies  partly  within  the  boun- 

daries of  more  than  one  rural  high-school  district,  that  portion  of 
the  boundaries  of  the  new  community  school  districts  lying  within 
the  district  should  be  determined  by  action  of  the  county  board 
of  education  or  by  a  joint  action  of  the  county  boards  of  educa- 
tion if  more  than  one  county  is  affected.  Said  board  or  boards, 
after  advisement  with  the  people  of  the  district,  and  in  accordance 
with  their  desires  as  far  as  possible,  should  determine  that  portion 
of  the  boundary  lines  of  the  newly-formed  community  school  dis- 
tricts crossing  the  one-teacher  school  district  in  question.  If  the 
school  is  continued,  it  should  be  supervised  b}T  the  community 


12  State  School  Code  Commission. 

school  district  in  which  the  building  is  located  and  its  financial 
support  should  come  from  each  district  in  such  proportion  as  may 
be  agreed  upon,  subject  to  approval  by  the  county  board  of  edu- 
cation. 
4.  Authority  also  should  be  granted  two  or  more  community  school 
districts  or  city  school  districts  to  maintain  jointly  such  neces- 
sary one-teacher  schools  as  may  be  approved  by  the  county 
board  of  education,  the  division  of  cost  to  be  approved  by  the 
county  board  also. 

(d)  County  high  schools. 

County  high  schools  should  become  either  community  school  districts, 
or  city  school  districts,  in  accordance  with  the  type  of  district  in  which  is 
located  the  county  high-school  buildings.  If  the  buildings  are  located  in  a 
district  that  would,  under  this  plan,  become  a  community  district,  then  the 
county  high  school  should  be  succeeded  by  that  community  school  district, 
and  its  boundaries  should  be  determined  by  law  and  so  adjusted  as  to  serve 
constructively  the  interests  of  all  concerned,  rather  than  to  destroy  or  cir- 
cumscribe the  service  that  any  school  has  been  rendering.  If  the  county  high- 
school  building  is  located  in  a  city  school  district,  then  the  county  high  school 
should  be  succeeded  by  that  city  school  district.  But  the  boundaries  of  that 
city  school  district  should  also  be  determined  by  law  and  should  be  adjusted 
in  such  manner  as  to  serve  constructively  the  best  interests  of  all  concerned. 

3.  The  City  School  District. 
The  city  school  district  should  be  composed  of  any  school  district  contain- 
ing a  city  of  the  first  or  second  class,  and  any  additional  territory  that  might 
be  attached  to  it  for  school  purposes. 

PROVISIONS  COMMON  TO  ALL  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS. 

Property  and  Obligations.  Since  all  school  districts  now  existing  in  the 
state  would  be  succeeded  by  some  one  of  these  types  of  districts,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  offer  some  suggestions  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  property  and 
the  obligations  of  existing  school  districts.  In  general,  all  property  belonging 
to  any  school  district  should  become  the  property  of  the  district  which 
succeeds  it. 

In  all  cases  it  is  understood  that  any  bonded  indebtedness  against  any 
territory  automatically  follows  that  territory.  It  is  suggested,  however,  that 
succeeding  districts  should  be  permitted  to  assume  any  such  bonded  indebted- 
ness. 

All  other  obligations  against  any  school  district  should  be  assumed  by  the 
district  that  succeeds  it.  If  more  than  one  district  has  any  part  of  the 
original  territory,  this  indebtedness  should  be  assumed  in  proportion  to  the 
taxable  valuation  received  by  each  succeeding  district. 

Officers.  Common-school  districts  should  have  the  same  officers,  with  the 
same  duties  as  now  required  by  law,  unless  these  are  changed  to  conform 
to  the  general  plan  of  reorganization  that  may  be  adopted. 

The  community  school  board  should  consist  of  six  members,  elected  by  the 
people.  Their  terms  of  office  should  expire  in  pairs  in  three,  two,  and  one 
years  respectively,  each  serving  for  a  term  of  three  years.  It  should  have  the 
power  to  elect  its  own  officers  and  to  have  such  general  authority  over  school 


Recommendations  to  the  Legislature. 


13 


affairs  as  is  now  given  to  school  boards.  It  should  also  have  such  addi- 
tional authority  and  limitations  as  may  be  necessary  in  conforming  to  the 
general  plan  of  reorganization. 

The  boards  of  education  of  all  cities  of  the  first  and  second  classes  should 
become  the  school  boards  of  their  respective  city  school  districts,  including 
such  additional  territory  as  may  be  attached  for  school  purposes.  School 
boards  of  city  school  districts  should  have  the  same  terms  of  office,  duties, 
and  qualifications  as  now  existing  for  city  boards  of  education. 

Provision  for  Schools  in  Session.  It  is  recommended  that  all  schools  that 
might  be  in  session  at  the  time  the  legislature  adopted  any  new  districting 
plan  should  continue  uninterruptedly  in  operation  to  the  close  of  that 
school  year.  It  should  be  the  duty  of  all  newly  designated  or  selected  school 
boards  of  all  school  districts  to  respect  inviolate  all  obligations  and  fulfill  all 
contracts  relating  to  and  essentially  a  part  of  the  school  organization  actually 
in  operation,  in  order  to  accomplish  this. 


14  State  School  Code  Commission. 

II.    THE  FINANCIAL  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS. 

A   COUNTY   UNIT   OF   TAXATION1    (OUTSIDE  OF  CITIES) . 

In  general  the  financial  support  of  all  schools  outside  of  city  school  dis- 
tricts should  be  derived  from  two  sources,  viz.:  (a)  Local  school  district  tax, 
and  (b)  a  county  tax  (outside  of  cities). 

The  authority  to  levy  the  local  school-district  tax  should  rest  in  the  quali- 
fied electors  of  any  common-school  district,  or  of  any  community  school 
district,  at  their  annual  meeting  or  at  any  special  meeting  legally  called  for 
the  purpose  of  levying  a  school  tax.  The  amount  of  this  tax  should  probably 
be  limited  by  statute,  with  provisions-  for  a  larger  tax  to  be  levied  by  com- 
munity school  districts  maintaining  a  fully  accredited  high  school.  Provision 
also  should  be  made  whereby  an  increased  levy  above  the  maximum  provided 
by  law  may  be  made  in  cases  of  emergency. 

The  second  means  of  support  should  lie  in  the  authority  of  a  county  board 
of  education  to  provide.  The  county  board  of  education  should  be  authorized 
to  levy  a  uniform  county-wide  school  tax  (outside  of  city  school  districts 
lying  in  the  county).  The  levy  thus  made  should  be  sufficient  to  raise  an 
amount  of  money  necessary  to  cover  the  following  items,  as  determined  by 
the  county  board  of  education : 

(a)  To  pajr  one-half  of  the  regular  salary  of  all  teachers  in  the  common 
schools  and  in  the  community  schools  of  the  county  up  to  fifty  dollars  per 
month  for  each  teacher,  as  a  maximum  from  the  county  fund. 

(b)  To  pay  to  the  community  school  districts  of  the  county  four  dollars 
per  month  per  pupil  in  average  daily  attendance  residing  within  the  district 
and  receiving  exclusively  high-school  instruction. 

(c)  To  pay  to  the  community  school  districts  of  the  county  eight  dollars 
per  month  per  pupil  in  average  daily  attendance  residing  outside  of  the 
district  and  receiving  exclusively  high-school  instruction,  providing  permission 
to  attend  the  community  district  high  school  has  been  authorized  by  the 
regulations  of  the  county  board  of  education. 

(d)  To  pay  to  any  city  school  district  eight  dollars  per  month  per  pupil  in 
average  daily  attendance  in  the  city  school  district  high  school,  providing  the 
child  whose  schooling  is  thus  paid  resides  in  some  common-school  district  of 
the  county  or  in  some  community  school  district  of  the  county  and  that  per- 
mission to  attend  the  city  school  district  high  school  has  been  authorized  by 
the  regulations  of  the  county  board  of  education. 

SUPPORT    OF  -CITY    SCHOOL    DISTRICTS. 

For  the  financial  support  of  c'ty  school  districts  the  school  boards  of  these 
districts  should  be  authorized  to  levy  the  necessary  amounts  as  now  provided 
by  statute. 

There  are  emergency  condition*  existing  in  Kansas  at  this  moment,  partic- 
ularly among  second-class  cities,  that  would  seem  to  demand  recognition. 

These  cities  have  less  taxable  property  per  pupil  than  any  other  type  of 
school  district  in  the  state.  This  may  be  due  partly  to  the  fact  that  approxi- 
mately one-fifth  of  the  children  of  the  one-teacher  school  districts  of  the  state 
are  found  enrolled  in  its  larger  graded  schools.  Evidently  their  parents  are 
not  content  with  the  schools  offered  in  their  home  districts  and  migrate  to  the 
larger  centers,  thereby  placing  an  extra  burden  upon  these  schools.  The  in- 
vestigations show  that  with  a  single  exception  the  cost  per  month  per  pupil 


Recommendations  to  the  Legislature.  15 

in  these  second-class  city  schools  is  less  than  that  of  any  other  type  of  dis- 
trict, while  the  average  levy  in  mills  is  nearly  fifteen  per  cent  above  the  levy 
oi  the  next  highest  type  of  district. 

While  the  Commission  recognizes  the  need,  it  must  frankly  admit  that  a 
satisfactory  remedy  has  not  yet  been  discovered. 

In  view  of  this  emergency  in  second-class  cities  the  Commission  recom- 
mends: (1)  An  enlargement  of  the  local  taxing  area.  (2)  State  aid  for  highly 
specialized  courses  in  these  schools. 

In  this  connection  the  Commission  wishes  to  emphasize  the  principle  that 
educational  costs  should  be  distributed  equally  among  the  productive  agencies 
of  society  and  over  a  territory  sufficiently  large  so  that  the  burden  may  be 
neither  too  heavy  upon  nor  too  directly  felt  by  any  taxpayer. 

The  boundaries  of  any  city  school  district  should  be  determined  by  law  in 
the  most  equitable  manner  possible,  and  should  be  adjusted  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  serve  constructively  the  interests  of  all  concerned,  including  both  the 
children  of  the  city  and  the  children  of  the  territory  adjacent  thereto  which 
might  be  attached  to  the  city  school  district.  It  is  not  the  policy  of  the  Com- 
mission to  suggest  in  minute  detail  the  manner  in  which  this  should  be  ac- 
complished. It  has  the  feeling  that  this  can  better  be  done  by  the  legislature, 
and  that  the  Commission  should  content  itself  with  a  statement  of  needs  and 
the  principles  involved  in  their  solution. 


16  State  School  Code  Commission. 


III.    CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENT  REVISING  OUR 
SYSTEM  OF  TAXATION. 

The  chief  source  of  financial  support  for  our  schools  at  the  present  time  is  a 
direct  property  tax.  This  is  often  very  inequitably  levied.  Not  only  should 
inequalities  be  adjusted,  but  productive  agencies  other  than  real  estate  must 
be  discovered  against  which  levies  may  be  made.  The  legislature  should  be 
permitted  to  classify  property  for  purposes  of  taxation  so  that  intangibles  may 
be  reached  and  various  other  forms  of  taxation  indulged  in,  which  are  now 
barred  by  the  constitution.  Gross  production  taxes  on  minerals  and  oils,  in- 
come taxes,  franchise  taxes,  and  various  other  forms  of  taxation  would  then  be 
lawful.  The  demands  for  better  educational  opportunities  make  imperative 
the  need  that  all  agencies  of  society  contribute  in  just  proportion  to  the  com- 
mon welfare. 

The  Commission  desires  to  face  the  issue  squarely.  The  increasing  emer- 
gency arising  from  growing  educational  costs  has  outdistanced  our  present 
sources  of  revenue. 

The  Commission  recommends  that  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  of 
the  state  be  submitted  in  due  form  which  will  meet  this  situation. 


Recommendations  to  the  Legislature.  17 


IV.  THE  COUNTY  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  Commission  recommends  that  a  board  of  education  be  created  for 
every  county  in  the  state.  This  board  should  be  elected  in  each  county  from 
the  territory  thereof  outside  of  city  school  districts,  and  should  consist  of 
three  electors,  no  two  of  whom  should  be  chosen  from  any  one  municipal 
township.  Their  nomination  and  election  should  be  accomplished  in  the  same 
manner  as  prescribed  by  statute  for  the  nomination  and  election  of  other 
county  officers. 

Since  Kansas  operates  under  a  biennial  election  law  and  the  operation  of 
this  plan  would  be  delayed,  statutory  provision  should  be  made  by  which  the 
several  boards  of  county  commissioners  of  the  state,  on  nomination  of  the 
county  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  should  appoint  a  county  board  of 
education  who  should  have  the  authority  and  duties  of  the  regularly  elected 
county  board  of  education  until  such  time  as  their  successors  could  be  elected 
and  qualified. 

The  county  board  of  education  should  hold  regular  meetings,  and  should 
meet  at  such  other  times  as  designated  by  its  chairman.  The  place  of  meet- 
ing should  be  in  the  office  of  the  county  superintendent  of  public  instruction. 

Each  member  of  the  county  board  of  education  should  be  allowed  actual 
traveling  and  hotel  expenses  while  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  board,  and  a 
per  diem  for  the  time  actually  used  in  the  work  of  the  board. 

The  term  of  office  for  the  members  of  the  county  board  of  education  should 
be  six  years  and  should  be  so  arranged  that  one  member  should  be  elected  at 
each  biennial  election.  Vacancies  on  the  board  should  be  filled  by  the  board 
of  county  commissioners  until  the  next  general  election  when  the  unexpired 
term  would  be  filled. 

In  general  the  function  of  the  county  board  of  education  should  be : 

(a)  The  county  board  of  education  should  have  the  authority  to  provide 
for  its  own  organization  and  work  and  to  prepare  and  publish  reports  showing 
in  detail  the  transactions  of  the  board. 

(b)  It  should  also  have  the  authority  to  provide  regulations  for  determining 
the  amount  of  money  to  be  raised  for  school  purposes  by  a  county  tax  to  be 
levied  on  the  common-school  districts  and  the  community  school  districts  in 
the  county. 

(c)  The  county  board  of  education  should  have  authority  to  levy  a  uniform 
tax  over  the  territory  of  the  county  from  which  it  was  elected  sufficient  to 
raise  an  amount  of  money  necessary  for  the  items  designated  under  a  "county 
unit  of  taxation,"  found  on  page  14  of  this  report. 

(d)  The  county  board  of  education  should  have  authority  to  change  the 
boundaiy  lines  of  any  common-school  district  or  of  any  community  school 
district  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  statute,  with  the  condition  always 
that  the  opportunity  to  appeal  from  its  decisions  shall  be  given  to  all  persons 
directly  interested. 

(e)  The  county  board  of  education  should  be  required  to  divide  that  part 
of  the  county  (outside  of  city  school  districts)  which  is  not  already  organized 
into  community  school  districts  into  proposed  community  school  districts,  ex- 
cept such  common-school  districts  as  in  the  judgment  of  the  count y  board  of 
education  are  for  physical  reasons  inaccessible  to  a  community  school  center. 
In  laying  out  the  boundaries  of  any  proposed  community  school  district  it 
should  be  the  duty  of  the  county  board  of  education  to  include  such  modifica- 

2 — Sch.  Code— 4558 


18  State  School  Code  Commission. 

tions  in  boundaries  of  all  school  districts  as  it  deems  to  be  in  the  best  in- 
terests of  education  for  the  entire  county.  The  community  school  districts 
thus  proposed  should  follow,  as  nearly  as  possible  the  boundary  lines  of  the 
school  districts  composing  them  and  should  have  a  valuation  and  a  school 
census  sufficiently  large  to  maintain  a  good  community  school.  After  such 
proposed  community  school  district  has  been  laid  out  the  county  board  of 
education  should  notify  the  people  affected  in  due  form  and,  in  accordance 
with  statutory  provision,  an  election  should  be  called  for  the  purpose  of  voting 
on  a  proposition  to  organize  the  proposed  community  school  district  into  a 
community  school  district.  If  a  majority  of  those  voting  in  such  an  election 
should  vote  favorably,  the  community  school  district  should  be  organized, 
otherwise  the  organization  fails.  (It  should  be  understood  in  all  cases  in- 
volving a  change  in  school  district  boundaries  or  in  laying  out  boundaries  for 
new  school  districts  that  the  right  of  interested  parties  to  appeal  from  the  de- 
cision of  the  county  board  of  education  should  not  be  abridged.) 

(/)  The  county  board  of  education  and  the  school  board  of  any  city  school 
district  jointly  should  have  the  authority  to  change  the  boundary  lines  of  any 
city  school  district,  providing  that  opportunity  for  appeal  lies  with  any  interested 
person  or  board.  School  districts  whose  boundaries  lie  in  more  than  one 
county  should  be  called  joint  common-school  districts  or  joint-community 
school  districts,  and  they  should  be  formed  or  their  boundaries  changed 
on  the  affirmative  action  of  each  of  the  county  boards  of  education  whose 
territory  is  affected,  with  the  customary  rights  to  appeal.  The  administra- 
tion, jurisdiction  and  control  of  any  joint  common-school  district  or  of  any 
joint  community  school  district  whose  territory  lies  partly  within  the  bounda- 
ries of  more  than  one  county,  should  rest  in  the  county  superintendent  and  the 
county  board  of  education  of  that  county  in  which  the  school  building  is  lo- 
cated, and  the  high-school  building  should  determine  in  case  of  two  buildings 
in  the  same  district  but  located  in  different  counties. 


Recommendations  to  the  Legislature.  19 


V.    THE  STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  State  Department  of  Education  has  received  closer  attention  from  the 
Commission  than  any  other  subject.  In  its  consideration  the  Commission  has 
undertaken  to  view  the  entire  field  of  public  education  in  perspective.  It  seems 
that  the  ideal  towards  which  we  have  been  progressing  is  that  of  a  single  sys- 
tem of  education  "from  the  kindergarten  through  the  university."  This  ideal 
is  a  goal  highly  worthy  of  any  democratic  state.  In  attempting  to  achieve  it 
there  may  be  experienced  friction  in  certain  parts,  yet  the  goal  remains — the 
ideal  should  not  be  lost. 

In  considering  the  function  of  the  State  Department  of  Education  it  might 
be  well  to  divide,  for  purposes  of  analysis  only,  the  entire  public  educational 
system  of  the  state  into  two  rather  distinct  parts,  the  institutions  of  higher 
learning,  so  called,  being  one  of  these,  and  the  elementary  schools  and  high 
schools  the  other.  Our  statutes  designate  as  the  chief  administrative  head  of 
the  former  a  single  board  of  three  members,  called  the  State  Board  of  Ad- 
■  ministration,  while  the  elementary  schools  and  high  schools  have  for  their 
chief  source  of  administration  the  State  Department  of  Education. 

The  close  relationship  of  these  parts  is  so  evident  that  to  mention  them  only 
emphasizes  the  essential  unity  of  the  entire  s.vstem.  The  higher  institutions 
are  required  by  statute  to  accept  the  product  of  the  elementary  schools  and 
high  schools  of  the  state.  On  the  other  hand,  practically  the  entire  teaching 
force  of  the  high  schools  and  a  large  per  cent  of  the  teachers  of  the  ele- 
mentary schools  are  trained  in  these  institutions  of  higher  learning.  Not 
only  in  practice  but  in  theory  the  relationship  is  so  close  and  so  vital  that  it 
must  not  be  disrupted.  It  is  very  necessary  that  no  confusion  exist  on  this 
point.  Issues  must  be  clearly  understood.  Slight  friction  does  not  warrant 
the  conclusion  that  everything  is  wrong.  The  essential  unity  of  purpose  and 
coordination  of  function  must  be  maintained.  If  by  statute  there  have  been 
placed  upon  the  heads  of  the  institutions  of  higher  learning  certain  duties 
that  have  thrown  these  men  open  to  the  charge  of  dominating  the  elementary 
schools  and  the  high  schools  of  the  state,  the  fault  rests  not  with  the  heads  of 
the  institutions;  neither  does  the  mere  supposition  prove  the  charge.  The  fact 
is  that  the  Commission,  after  careful  investigation,  is  convinced  that  there  are 
no  grounds  for  such  a  question.  There  have  been  no  attempts  by  any  one,  or 
any  group,  to  dominate  or  influence  the  elementary  schools  and  high  schools 
in  the  manner  implied. 

The  Commission  recognizes,  however,  that  there  is  a  growing  sentiment  in 
the  state  for  a  more  democratic  form  of  control  and  administration  of  the 
elementary-  and  high-school  part  of  our  state  educational  system.  To  con- 
form to  this  sentiment  and  at  the  same  time  and  under  the  constitutional  limi- 
tations imposed,  to  provide  for  the  selection  of  the  right  type  of  administrator 
has  been  a  real  task.  The  solution  that  the  Commission  offers  will  no  doubt 
be  questioned  by  many,  but  they  are  willing  to  test  it  in  the  crucible  of 
experience. 


20  State  School  Code  Commission. 

The  State  Department  of  Education  should  consist  of  a  state  superintendent 
of  public  instruction,  a  State  Board  of  Education  and  such  officers  and  assist- 
ants as  are  necessary  in  executing  the  functions  of  the  State  Department  of 
Education. 

The  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  In  order  to  secure  by  elec- 
tion a  person  of  the  broadest  training  and  widest  experience  possible,  it  is 
recommended  that  all  candidates  for  the  office  of  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction  at  either  primary  election  or  the  general  election  should 
have  the  following  qualifications: 

(a)  Graduation  from  a  four-year  course  of  a  college,  normal  school,  uni- 
versity, or  other  institution  of  similar  rank. 

(b)  Graduation  with  a  master's  degree  with  a  major  study  in  education 
from  an  approved  graduate  school,  or  graduate  study  equivalent  thereto. 

(c)  Forty  months'  experience  in  teaching,  at  least  eighteen  months  of  which 
shall  have  been  in  positions  requiring  the  supervision  of  other  teachers. 

The  Commission  recommends  as  to  salary  and  duties  for  this  office  the 
following : 

(a)  The  salary  of  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  should  be 
in  keeping  with  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  that  office  and  more  nearly 
in  harmony  than  at  present  with  amounts  paid  for  similar  services  elsewhere. 
The  salary  should  be  not  less  than  four  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 

(b)  In  general  the  duties  of  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction 
should  be  administrative  in  character,  with  the  type  of  supervisory  authority 
necessary  to  properly  administer  the  educational  policies  which  may  have  been 
determined  by  the  State  Board  of  Education  for  that  department. 

The  State  Board  of  Education.  It  is  recommended  that  a  state  board  of 
education  be  created  to  replace  the  present  board.  The  following  suggestions 
are  made  concerning  the  State  Board  of  Education: 

(a)  It  should  be  composed  of  six  electors  who  should  not  be  in  the  employ 
of  any  school,  either  public  or  private,  and  the  state  superintendent  of  public 
instruction.  The  members  should  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  with  the 
approval  of  the  senate.  These  appointments  should  be  made  on  or  about  the 
first  day  of  March  of  odd-numbered  years.  Two  should  be  appointed  each 
biennium  and  for  a  term  of  six  years,  and  no  two  should  reside  in  the  same 
congressional  district.  Any  vacancies  which  might  occur  should  be  filled  by  the 
governor. 

(6)  The  State  Board  of  Education  should  be  required  to  hold  regular  meet- 
ings and  should  be  authorized  to  hold  such  special  meetings  as  may  be  desig- 
nated. The  place  of  these  meetings  should  be  in  the  office  of  the  state  super- 
intendent of  public  instruction.  The  board  should  have  authority  to  perfect 
its  own  organization  and  to  select  a  secretary,  whose  qualifications  should  be 
fixed  by  statute  and  whose  salary  should  be  not  less  than  thirty-six  hundred 
dollars  per  year. 

(c)  The  board  members  should  be  allowed  actual  traveling  and  hotel  ex- 
penses in  connection  with  all  their  meetings  and  a  per  diem  for  the  time 
actually  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  board. 

(d)  The  State  Board  of  Education  should  have  the  following  duties: 

1.  Approving  and  standardizing  schools. 

2.  Certification  of  teachers. 

3.  Making  courses  of  study. 

4.  Joining  with  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  in  gather- 

ing and  interpreting  statistical  data. 


Recommendations  to  the  Legislature.  21 

5.  The  State  Board  of  Education  should  have  exclusive  and  sole  au- 

thority in  defining  elementary  instruction  and  high-school  in- 
struction and  in  fixing  official  standards  of  excellence  in  all  matters 
relating  to  the  administration,  course  of  study,  and  instruction  in 
the  common  schools,  the  community  schools  and  the  city  schools 
of  the  state  and  in  accrediting  those  schools  of  the  state  in  which 
the  specified  standards  are  maintained.  Completion  of  the  course 
of  study  of  any  accredited  high  school  should  entitle  a  person  to 
admission  in  the  freshman  class  of  the  State  University,  State 
Agricultural  College,  or  any  of  the  state  normal  schools. 

6.  The  State  Board  of  Education  should  have  full  authority  to  provide 

regulations  for  accrediting  colleges  and  universities  and  for  in- 
specting these  institutions  in  matters  relating  to  state  teachers' 
certificates. 

Officers  and  Assistants.  The  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction 
should  be  authorized  to  appoint  an  assistant  superintendent  at  a  salary  of  not 
less  than  thirty-six  hundred  dollars  per  year.  He  should  be  allowed  also  the 
necessary  clerks  and  stenographers  for  carrying  on  in  a  satisfactory  manner  the 
duties  of  this  office.  He  should  also  have  authority  to  appoint,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  State  Board  of  Education,  the  supervisors  necessary  to  carry 
on  in  an  efficient  manner  its  supervisory  functions. 


22  State  School  Code  Commission. 


VI.    SCHOOL  BUILDINGS. 

There  seems  to  be  need  for  the  approval  of  school  building  plans  by  some 
centralized  state  authority.  The  Commission  therefore  recommends  that  the 
State  Board  of  Education,  in  conjunction  with  the  state  architect,  adopt  rules 
and  regulations  by  which  this  may  be  accomplished.  It  further  suggests  that 
the  statutes  should  provide  that  before  public  money  could  be  expended  for 
the  erection  of  a  new  schoolhouse  or  before  a  sum  in  excess  of  one  thousand 
dollars  could  be  expended  in  the  alteration  of  a  school  building  the  plans  for 
such  school  building  or  for  such  alterations  should  be  approved  in  accordance 
with  this  recommendation. 


VII.    CERTIFICATION  OF  TEACHERS. 

The  Commission  recommends  the  following  in  relation  to  the  issuance  of 
teachers'  certificates  in  the  state  of  Kansas: 

(a)  That  all  certificates  should  be  issued  by  the  State  Board  of  Education 
except  those  issued  by  the  state  normal  schools. 

(b)  That  the  State  Board  of  Education  should  be  given  authority  also  to 
provide  for  the  issuance  of  any  city  or  county  certificates  that  may  be  neces- 
sary in  putting  into  operation  the  new  plan. 

(c)  That  standards  both  of  age  and  professional  training  should  be  raised 
as  rapidly  as  conditions  in  the  state  will  permit.  It  is  suggested  that  we  ought 
soon  to  have  reached  the  place  where  a  minimum  age  of  twenty  years  and  a 
training  of  at  least  one  year  in  an  approved  normal  school  or  college  beyond 
a  four-year  accredited  high-school  course  may  be  required  of  all  teachers. 

(d)  That  all  certificates  should  bear  upon  their  faces  the  designation  of 
subjects  or  types  of  schools  for  which  the  holder  of  the  certificate  is  qualified 
to  teach  and  that  the  certificate  should  be  legal  authority  for  the  holder  to 
teach  only  the  subjects  or  in  the  types  of  schools  designated  on  the  face  of 
the  certificate. 

(e)  That  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  possible  emergency  created  under 
this  change  in  the  law  governing  the  certification  of  teachers  and  in  order 
that  a  larger  supply  of  better-trained  teachers  may  be  available,  the  State 
Board  of  Education  should  be  given  authority  to  accredit  normal-training  de- 
partments in  certain  high  schools  within  the  state  and  under  regulations  which 
they  might  adopt.  It  is  further  recommended  that  the  state  at  large  should 
assist  these  high  schools  in  the  maintenance  of  such  teacher-training  courses 
through  legislative  appropriation  in  an  amount  proportionate  to  the  service 
rendered  the  state. 


Recommendations  to  the  Legislature.  23 


VIII.   VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION. 

The  State  Board  of  Education  should  serve  as  a  state  board  for  vocational 
education.  As  such,  the  State  Board  of  Education  should  administer  the  funds 
set  aside  for  vocational  training  under  the  Smith-Hughes  law  and  any  other 
funds  appropriated  by  the  state  for  the  advancement  of  vocational  education. 

The  State  Board  of  Education  should  approve  courses  of  study  for  training 
in  various  vocations,  such  as  agriculture,  home  economics,  automobile  me- 
chanics, carpentry,  plumbing,  electric  wiring,  merchandising,  office  practice, 
and  the  like,  and  should  approve  high  schools  to  offer  work  in  one  or  more 
of  these  vocational  lines. 

When  such  high  schools  have  been  approved  by  the  State  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, they  should  be  reimbursed  from  the  Smith-Hughes  fund  or  from  other 
funds  appropriated  by  the  state  for  the  maintenance  of  vocational  education 
in  such  an  amount  as  to  cover  the  excess  cost  of  these  vocational  educational 
courses  over  the  approximate  average  cost  of  nonvocational  educational  courses 
in  the  state.  It  is  understood  that  all  rules  and  regulations  made  by  the  State 
Board  of  Education  should  be  in  harmony  with  federal  rules. 


IX.  LENGTHENING  THE  SCHOOL  TERM. 

The  Commission  has  studied  carefully  the  question  of  school  opportunities 
offered  the  children  of  Kansas.  Approximately  thirty  per  cent  of  the  children 
of  elementary-school  age  in  this  state  have  school  opportunities  for  only  140 
days  each  year.    Again  they  wish  to  face  an  issue  squarely. 

The  Commission  unanimously  recommends  that  school  boards  and  school 
officials  whose  duty  it  is  to  provide  educational  opportunities  for  the  children 
of  the  state  should  be  required  to  offer  to  each  child  a  school  term  of  not  less 
than  160  days  in  any  school  year. 


X.  TRANSPORTATION  FOR  SCHOOL  CHILDREN. 

Distance  from  school  is  an  important  consideration  in  rural  communities. 
The  established  custom  of  the  home  bearing  alone  and  unaided  this  burden 
may  well  be  challenged. 

It  is  recommended,  therefore,  that  it  should  be  the  duty  of  school  boards 
of  community  school  districts  and  of  common-school  districts  to  provide,  under 
regulations  established  by  the  State  Board  of  Education,  transportation  facili- 
ties for  all  children  living  two  miles  or  more  from  school.  This  should  apply 
both  to  elementary-  and  high-school  children. 


Part  II. 

ARGUMENTS  IN  SUPPORT  OF  THE 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 


I.    DISTRICTING. 

One  object  of  any  districting  plan  is  to  leave  the  largest  possible  chance  of 
local  initiative  for  the  improvement  of  the  schools  of  the  district.  Certain 
aspects  of  administration  must  be  controlled  on  a  state-wide  basis.  For  ex- 
ample, courses  of  study,  textbooks,  certificates  of  teachers,  and  the  standards 
for  approval  of  schools  must  be  fixed  by  the  larger  area.  However,  in  a  demo- 
cratic society  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  a  keen  interest  in  education 
be  maintained  by  all  the  citizens.  Therefore,  local  control  should  cover  as 
many  features  of  school  administration  as  can  be  handled  properly  by  the 
smaller  district. 

How  large  this  district  ought  to  be  depends  upon  a  number  of  factors.  It- 
must  be  large  enough  that  no  district  will  be  excessively  taxed  because  of  low 
valuation  of  property  within  the  district.  Neither  must  it  be  so  small  that  the 
number  of  children  in  the  school  is  so  limited  that  interesting  work  is  im- 
possible. Furthermore,  it  must  be  large  enough  to  maintain  school  throughout 
all  the  grades  which  any  very  considerable  number  of  children  wish  to  attend. 
Formerly  the  completion  of  the  eighth  grade  was  thought  to  be  all  that  was 
necessary  for  the  great  mass  of  our  population.  It  is  coming  now  to  be  as 
widely  recognized  that  all  children  should  have  opportunity  to  complete  the 
high  school,  no  matter  whether  they  are  going  to  spend  their  lives  on  the  farm, 
in  business,  or  in  the  professions.  Therefore  the  district  now  must  be  large 
enough  to  incorporate  a  high  school  wherever  that  is  possible. 

The  essential  recommendations  on  districting  made  by  the  School  Code 
Commission  are  in  the  direction  of  making  easy  the  establishment  of  districts 
large  enough  to  maintain  a  school  system  from  the  first  grade  through  the 
high  school.  That  does  not  mean  that  all  the  children  within  the  district  will 
be  expected  to  go  to  a  central  school  for  their  elementary  work,  but  it  does 
mean  that  the  elementary  and  high-school  work  within  a  given  district  must, 
for  purposes  of  efficiency  and  economy,  be  under  the  control  of  one  board  of 
education.  To  meet  this  situation  the  community  school  district  is  advocated 
to  take  the  place  of  individual  small  units.  This  will  not  be  done,  however, 
until  the  people  within  a  proposed  community  district  are  convinced  that  it  is 
sound  policy  and  are  ready  to  vote  for  its  establishment.  At  present  the 
weakest  place  in  our  school  system  is  the  rural  school.  Even  though  there  are 
more  than  two  hundred  thousand  children  in  one-room  rural  schools  they  had 
an  average  term  during  1919-'20  of  only  29.3  weeks.  The  average  daily  attend- 
ance was  only  104  days  per  year.  The  teacher  in  more  than  three-fourths  of 
these  schools  was  new  to  the  school  that  year  and  one-third  of  the  teachers 
had  never  taught  before.    They  were  without  supervision  except  such  as  could 

(24) 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  25 

be  given  by  a  county  superintendent  who,  because  of  large  number  of  schools 
and  the  distances  to  travel,  could  visit  the  teachers  but  once  or  twice  a  year. 
It  is  no  wonder  under  the  circumstances  that  children  in  the  fifth  grade  in  the 
city  school  can  read  better  than  children  in  the  sixth  grade  in  the  country; 
that  children  in  the  sixth  grade  in  the  village  can  spell  as  well  as  the  children 
in  the  seventh  grade  in  the  country;  that  children  in  the  fifth  grade  in  the 
village  can  add  and  subtract  and  multiply  as  well  as  or  better  than  the  sixth- 
grade  children  in  the  country ;  and  that  the  handwriting  of  village  school  chil- 
dren of  the  fifth  grade  is  superior  to  the  handwriting  of  the  sixth-grade  chil- 
dren of  the  country.  These  conditions  are  lamentable  and  must  not  be  allowed 
to  continue.  The  country  school  needs  superior  teachers  where  children  of  all 
classes  and  all  ages  are  taught  by  a  single  teacher;  surely  the  best  of  schools 
and  training  are  demanded.  Furthermore,  if  superivision  is  needed  anywhere 
it  is  surely  needed  in  this  complex  situation  of  the  country  school. 

The  proposition  therefore  is  that  the  rural-school  district,  surrounding  some 
center  as  mapped  out  by  the  county  board  of  education,  should  be  allowed  to 
vote  on  the  establishment  of  a  community  school.  If  such  community  school 
is  established  there  will  be  employed  in  that  community  school  a  real  educa- 
tional leader  who  will  supervise  the  work  of  all  the  teachers,  both  elementary 
and  high-school  teachers;  who  will  place  the  teachers  in  the  various  schools 
over  the  district  according  to  the  qualifications  needed  in  those  schools;  who 
will  prevent  a  succession  of  new  teachers  coming  into  these  complex  situations 
in  the  country  schools;  who  will  pay  out  of  the  common  treasury  of  the  com- 
munity school  district  whatever  salaries  are  necessary  to  secure  competent 
teachers  who  have  a  rural  school  point  of  view  and  who  care  to  give  their 
energies  to  the  development  of  the  rural  school  and  rural  community.  By 
this  means  a  definite  educational  policy  could  be  formulated  and  developed 
through  a  series  of  years.  Whenever  the  best  interest  of  the  schools  demand 
it,  children  may  be  transported  from  outlying  districts  to  a  school  center  where 
better  grading  is  possible  and  more  adequate  instruction  can  be  given.  How- 
ever, the  adoption  of  a  community  school  does  not  involve  having  the  children 
from  all  the  districts  attend  school  in  a  common  center. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  district  school  is  still  a  necessity  in  some  locali- 
ties. Differences  in  geographical,  topographical,  and  economic  conditions  are 
so  pronounced  in  Kansas  that  no  one  type  of  district  will  meet  all  conditions. 
The  School  Code  Commission  is  proposing  a  plan  whereby  a  reasonable  meas- 
ure of  intelligence  and  foresight  will  be  exercised  in  determining  the  nature, 
size  and  boundaries  of  districts  instead  of  the  haphazard,  aimless  plan  which 
now  exists. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  seven  recognized  districts  or  units  of  organi- 
zation for  school  purposes;  namely,  common-school  district,  consolidated  dis- 
trict, rural  high-school  district,  the  county  high-school  district,  city  of  the 
third  class,  city  of  the  second  class,  and  city  of  the  first  class.  Each  of  these 
various  districts  has  its  own  board  and  legal  rights  and  privileges.  The  fact 
that  one  district  often  lies  within  the  confines  of  another  and  pays  its  own 
tax  and  a  tax  to  support  another  similar  institution,  and  the  fact  that  petty 
jealousies  and  trivialities  have  determined,  in  many  instances,  the  boundary 
lines  which  have  given  districts  monstrous  shapes  and  sizes,  has  been  borne  in 
comparative  silence  by  the  public. 


26  State  School  Code  Commission. 

The  plan  which  the  School  Code  Commission  proposes  is  to  put  all  of  the 
territory  of  the  state  under  one  of  three  districts :  the  common-school  district, 
the  community  school  district  and  the  city  school  district.  In  general  the  com- 
mon-school district  and  city  school  district  will  be  the  same  as  now  exists.  The 
community  school  district  will  take  the  place  of  school  districts  of  cities  of 
the  third  class,  rural  high-school  districts,  and  county  high  schools. 

Under  the  present  plan  of  organizing  rural  high  schools  independently  of 
other  district  organizations  we  have  the  anomalous  situation  of  two  boards  of 
education  operating  schools  in  the  same  town.  One  is  in  charge  of  the  high 
school,  the  other  of  the  elementary  school.  Such  a  method  violates  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  education  in  a  democracy;  namely,  a  system  reaching 
from  the  kindergarten  to  the  university.  Two  boards  of  education  working 
independently  of  each  other  are  working  at  a  task  which  can  only  be  per- 
formed efficiently  when  there  is  complete  unity  both  of  purpose  and  of  effort 
There  can  be  nothing  worthy  of  the  name  of  system  in  a  scheme  of  education 
in  which  there  are  two  boards  of  education  trying  to  do  the  work  of  one, 
building  two  buildings  where  there  are  scarcely  enough  children  both  of 
elementary-  and  high-school  age  to  fill  one,  hiring  a  superintendent  of  the 
elementary  school  and  a  principal  of  the  high  school  who  are  wholly  inde- 
pendent of  each  other.  The  absurdity  of  such  a  plan  is  evident  to  all,  and 
the  more  especially  so  to  those  who  send  their  children  to  schools  operated 
under  this  plan. 

In  changing  the  rural  high-school  district  into  a  community  school  district 
the  rural  schools  lying  within  the  area  now  comprising  the  rural  high-school 
district  would  be  placed  under  a  single  board  managing  all  schools  within  the 
district.  This  will  unite  the  town  and  the  contributory  open  country  edu- 
cationally as  they  should  be  united;  it  will  take  the  first  step  towards  the 
supervision  of  the  rural  schools  by  a  superintendent  located  in  a  town  within 
reach  of  rural  schools  and  competent  to  perform  this  very  important  and 
difficult  task;  it  will  tend  to  restore  the  original  unit  of  administration  in 
American  democracy,  namely,  the  township  which  observers  tell  us  has 
brought  forth  more  favorable  comment  than  any  other  single  aspect  of  our 
government.  It  does  not  require  the  abandonment  of  the  one-teacher  schools 
in  that  district;  their  operation  is  guaranteed  unless  the  people  by  vote  de- 
termine otherwise. 

The  county  high  school  will  disappear  under  the  plan  proposed.  The  build- 
ings will  automatically  become  the  property  of  the  community  or  city  school 
district  in  which  they  are  located.  The  county  high  school  in  almost  all 
counties  has  outlived  its  period  of  usefulness  as  such.  Secondary  education 
has  become  local  in  its  character.  Parents  are  no  longer  willing  to  send  their 
children  to  another  town  when  they  can  build  and  support  their  own  high 
school.  The  anomaly  of  a  county  high-school  board  of  education  which  main- 
tains a  single  high  school  for  all  the  children  of  the  county  and  six  or  seven 
other  boards  of  education  in  charge  of  high  schools  of  equal  rank  and  sup- 
ported locally,  which  enroll  a  majority  of  the  pupils,  is  strikingly  evident. 

When  the  problem  of  districting  is  considered  in  its  larger  aspects,  it  is 
seen  that  Kansas  has  acted  largely  on  impulse  or  from  temporary  pressure  in 
enacting  school  laws.  There  has  been  a  lack  of  policy  and  program  which  is 
manifest  in  the  patchwork  of  laws  which  has  in  some  instances  permitted  one 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations. 


27 


Rural  School  Districts,  Lton  County. 


fiango    IX  yv JSajryg  IS  <V 


ITo.2Q. 


to  Jf 


Jgan^-9   ZtW  JZaJxjfe-    '?  rV 


r 


22  2  3  Off* 


27  2  6  2S- 


13  17  /I 


19  2©       a/ 


30  2.<3  IS 


JV0.//0 


Plate  1. 


These  and  many  similar  rural  districts  are  found  in  Lyon  county.  Thev  are  not  greatly 
d.fferent  from  those  in  other  counties  in  our  state.  It  will  be  noted  that  no"  svstem  has  been 
used  either  in  planning  the  boundaries  of  the  district  or  the  location  of  the  schoolhouses. 


28 


State  School  Code  Commission. 


Rural  District  No.  91,  Marion  County. 


•JiUAfC*     S 

.    rLAS/GZ  s- 

6 

5 

4                 3 

2 

1 

6 

S 

4                3 

2 

i 

7 

8 

9                to 

tl 

to 

7 

8 

9                to 

it 

12 

re 

IT 

16                If 

li- 

13 

18 

17 

16                 IS 

14 

13 

19 

SO 

30 

29 

u                2a 
2B               27 

as 

24 

24 

19 

30 

as 

26                  27 

33 
26 

a* 
as- 

3, 

H 

31 

32 

33                3 

4 

35 

\ 

32 

33              34 

3S 

■se 

6 
7 

*                     X 

2 

6 
7 

f                » 
9               to 

tt 

/ 

fa. 

8 

9               to 

tl 

/e 

8 

te 

17 

16               IS 

ft- 

18 

18 

*7 

16                IS 

14- 

13 

19 

2o 

at            aa 

33 

3-4 

19 

ao 

at            aa 

S3 

a* 

SO 

29 

sa           a? 

26 

as 

30 

sa 

aa           at 

an 

2tr 

33 

32 

33                34 

3S- 

36 

31 

32 

93                34 

ss- 

36 

Plate  2. 

An  evidence  of  straining  the  law  of  contiguity  in  district  boundaries.     It  is  impossible  to 
from  one  side  of  this  district  to  the  other  without  getting  out  of  the  district. 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations. 


29 


piece  of  property  to  be  taxed  by  four  different  levies  for  school  purposes.  In 
order  to  show  the  effect  of  opportunism  in  legislation  and  of  subjecting  inci- 
dent to  policy,  rather  than  the  reverse,  a  series  of  maps  has  been  drawn 
showing  the  boundaries  of  various  school  districts  in  the  state. 

With  all  these  facts  in  mind  it  seems  clear  that  the  logical  way  out  of  the 
difficulty  is  the  adoption  of  the  recommendations  of  the  School  Code  Com- 
mission providing  for  a  new  districting  plan,  with  a  county  board  of  education 
to  assist  the  county  superintendent  in  mapping  out  the  best  and  most  effective 
boundaries  for  these  new  districts. 


Rural  and  Small-Town  Districts,  Crawford  County. 
RANGE  2  5  RANGE  24 


15 


JT~ 


14         ' h3 


DISTRICT  12 

22                  23  24 

27                  26  25 

3-4                   35  36 


<B 


iZ- 


I 


30  29  28 

DISTRICT   13 

31  32  33 


Plate  3. 

You  will  notice  that  district  13  is  three  and  one-half  miles  in  extreme  length  north  and 
south  while  the  extreme  width  is  two  and  one-half  miles.  In  this  big  arm  or  projection  that 
extends  to  the  north  there  is  no  one  living,  but  through  political  manipulation  the  district  has 
been  able  to  retain  this  for  the  reason  that  it  has  two  of  the  largest  barns  and  feed  yards 
in  the  county.  The  little  slice  from  the  northwest  corner  of  section  18  is  on  the  edge  of  a 
small  town  which  has  eight  or  ten  houses.  The  schoolhouse  of  the  adjoining  district  is  within 
two  hundred  yards  of  this  delicate  piece  of  district  boundary  engineering. 


30 


State  School  Code  Commission. 


Joint  Rural  District  No.  27,  Gray  County. 
RANGE  51  FINNEY  CO. RANGE  30    GRAY  CO. 


14  13 


23  24 


ze>  it 


a 


IS  3b 




6  5 


IS  17 


19  3.0  Zl 


14  13 


2  2  1  14 


30  29 


Z7.ll. 


$  XI  Ma 


31  32  33  34  SS 


a  ©  k>  » 


29  28 


Plate  4. 


J  3  J  4  iS  3fc 


TWp.24 


Twp.25 


This  district  lias  two  schoolhouses.  The  population  of  the  district  is  scattered,  a  few  near 
the  north  schoolhouse,  one  family  near  the  county  line  on  the  river,  but  most  of  the  children 
live  in  sections  26,  27,  34,  35,  township  24,  in  the  east  central  part  of  the  district. 

Local  contention  prevents  moving  the  old  schoolhouses,  building  a  new  one  in  a  more 
accessible  location,  or  any  other  adjustment  which  will  bring  education  to  the  children. 

No  school  has  been  held  in  the  south  schoolhouse  for  several  years. 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  31 

Allen  Rural  High-school  District,  Lyon  County. 


19 

2a 

31 

22 

23                24 

19 

20 

2/ 

« 

03 

24 

JO 

29 

2e 

27 

26                 2<f 

SO 

39 

20 

21 

26 

is 

3t 

3a 

33 

34 

SS                 36 

31 

32 

33 

3-9 

3S 

36 

6 

s 

4 

3 

2                    J 

6 

S 

4 

3 

2 

1 

7 

e 

9 

to 

Zl                 JS 

7 

8 

9 

JO 

11 

12 

/<S 

17 

Z6 

IS 

I 

14                /3 

■18 

17 

16 

IS 

14 

13 

|        |J^^| 

19              1 
jo             2 

19 

JO 

9 

26 

27 

2« 

2S 

29 

28 

27 

26 

as 

3t                3 

2 

3? 

34 

iillifllllllP 

6 

31 

32 

33 

S4 

3S 

36 

6 

^ 

4 

3 

2 

( 

6 

S 

4 

3 

2 

1 

r           8 

9 

Ja 

a      / 

7 

8 

9 

JO 

XI 

12 

X8              17 

1 

6 

IS 

14                 J3 

X 

J 

17 

■    16 

IS 

14 

13 

SO 

2 

■ 

22 

23               24 

1 

9 

20 
29 

2.1 

23 

22 
27 

23 
26 

19 

2S- 

JO               29 

28 

27 

26                 2S 

3 

O 

JX                  32 

33 

34 

SS               36 

31 

32 

S3 

34 

3T 

36 

Plate  5. 

Gerrymandering  in  organizing  a  rural  high  school  is  common.     It  is  easy  to  take  in  a  man'i 
land  and  leave  his  house  out  of  the  district  if  he  is  opposed  to  the  organization. 


32 


State. School  Code  Commission. 


1NGAILS  RUAAL  ff/ON  SCiVOOL  D/STJ3/CT 


JW/VO£ 

-   V 

J=  1V( 

"g  28 

4 

6 

S            4 

! 

2 

' 

6            S 

4 

3 

3 

t 

l|||f|||^l 

3 

T„p.   2f 

7 

8             9            1 

0 

11 

/2 

7           8 

9 

JO 

11 

12 

11111111111 

fe 

JO 

16 
10 

J?           16           l 
2a           21           2 

2 

14 

23 

13 
34 
2S 

is        17 

19           20 
3o          29 

16 
21 

26 

IS 
22 
27 

14 

23 

26 

13 
24 

2S 

jr           n 

16 

is 

Bill 

24 

s 

29            Kl8             2 

1 

26 

r   ■ i 

31 

.72           33          34 

J5- 

J6 

31           32 

33 

34 

3S 

36 

IIBIIIP 

33 

4 

6 

S            4             3 

2 

2 

6            S 

4 

3 

2 

* 

6             S 

\ 

is 

«; 

T 

8       v    9            JO 
17           16          IS 

11 

/2 
13 

7            8              9            JO           11 

-  JVo  26  - 
IB           r7           16           IS          14 

12 

KHOOi 

13 

7            8 

Jxrs-rjsjcr  ■ 

18          17 

" 

20            21             22 

■23 

21 

22 

23 

24 

19             2C 

2i 

~g       ze       37 

3!f 

2b 

„-, 

37 

S6 

f*   V 

32 

33 

34 

176 

31             32 

3 

3^- 

<5 

£ ,  4         y 

,  2 

.ifa 

:.,;=- 

4 

3 

2 

^ 

K     ?*>. 

P 

4 

0 

if) 

3     , 

I 

•3             3           ro 

J1/ 

is 

T       ill? 

9 

JO 

Jt 

12 

7 

^#-N 

*5 

JO 

T«f>.    Ob 

19 

^1111111111 

iS 

" 

" 

16 
21 

IS 

J4 

iy 

ie 

■17 

< 

0 

^ 

.20      •  2/ 

22 

23 

24 

10            20 

22 

23 

24 

j-j 

**. 

3* 

2*            ;&? 

27 

■24, 

ZS 

JO            29 

28 

27 

26. 

E3 

2S 

3c 

*, 

>S 

27 

34. 

31          32 

33 

34 

3S 

3b 

32 

32 

33 

3< 

"'■' 

6 

i 

v         4          3 

2 

Z 

<  } 

4 

3 

2 

1 

zMMzMM 

*■ 

3 

7 

4 

9          ve> 

11 

12 

?  fH\ 

9 

JO 

■* 

12 

llllllllilp 

9 

JC 

Tnp-27 

18 

r       /6       /i" 

14 

J? 

wMIMM& 

1 

J6, 

B-6 

is- 

J=>Zj4T. 

19            20 

Plate  6. 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  33 

EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  6. 

The  law  does  not  limit  the  size  of  a  rural  high -school  district.  In  this  one  it  is  24  miles 
from  the  schoolhouse  to  the  far  corner  of  the  district.  Territory  is  often  the  only  factor  in 
organization  of  such  a  district.  To  derive  the  benefits  of  the  school  most  of  the  children  must 
be  boarded  in  town.  In  consequence,  only  a  small  per  cent  of  the  children  eligible  for  the 
high  school  attend.  A  consolidated  school  has  been  organized  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
rural  high  school.  This  high -school  district  is  so  large  it  will  not  be  possible  for  Ingalls  to 
accommodate  all  the  districts  under  a  consolidated  plan. 

There  are  24  board  members  managing  the  one-room  schools;  3  board  members  the  con- 
solidated school  with  practically  the  same  amount  of  territory  as  in  the  one-room  districts ; 
3  board  members  over  the  high  school,  making  a  tcial  of  30  board  members  to  manage  the 
school  affairs  of  the  territory  contained  in  one  rural  high-school  district. 

Since  it  is  necessary  by  present  law  for  the  rural  districts  to  vote  individually  to  consoli- 
date we  have  many  irregularly-shaped  consolidated  districts.  By  law  the  rural  high-school 
boundaries  need  not  conform  with  the  boundaries  of  the  rural  districts  which  form  a  part 
of  the  rural  high-school  districts. 

Again  because  the  rural  high-school  boundaries  need  not  conform  with  rural -district  bound- 
aries and  because  the  rural  district  must  vote  as  a  unit  for  consolidation,  we  have  many 
places  in  Kansas  where  triple  taxation  for  high-school  support  is  possible.  This  condition 
exists  in  sections  19,  30,  31,  township  26,  range  28,  which  are  included  in  the  Ingalls  rural 
high  school  and  Cimarron  consolidated  school,  and  must  also  pay  their  part  of  the  Barnes 
tax.  If  districts  32  and  38  vote  into  Cimarron  consolidated  school  the  same  condition  will 
exist.  There  is  an  endless  succession  of  needless  lawsuits  arising  from  the  inadequate  pro- 
visions of  these  laws. 

When  districts  joint  27  and  36  vote  to  consolidate  with  Pierceville,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  set  them  out  of  Ingalls  rural  high  school,  thereby  causing  more  litigation. 

These  conditions  will  be  remedied  by  a  county  board  of  education  which  will  supervise 
districting. 


3— Sch.  Code— 4558 


34  Stmte  School  Code  Commission. 


II  and  III.    FINANCING  EDUCATION. 

The  keystone  in  the  arch  of  our  democracy  is  equality  of  opportunity.  Men 
are  not  born  equal— they  vary  widely  in  size,  weight  and  intellect.  Nature 
abhors  equality  and  forbids  identity.  Equality  springs  from  our  ethical  sense; 
from  the  ideal  that  the  merciless  law  of  nature  can  be  mitigated  and  improved. 

To  this  end,  instead  of  assuming  that  men  are  equal  by  birth  we  assume 
that  their  environment  can  be  equalized.  Hence,  all  that  constitutes  real 
equality  is  in  the  form  of  certain  external  factors  commonly  spoken  of  as 
equality  of  opportunity. 

Examples  of  equality  of  opportunity  are  one  vote  for  one  person,  160  acres 
of  land  to  a  settler,  equality  before  the  law,  and  a  free  school  system  whose 
doors  are  open  to  the  son  of  the  day  laborer  and  the  son  of  the  banker  alike. 

It  is  the  glory  of  our  republic  that  it  has  taken  the  latter  step  more  com- 
pletely than  any  other  nation,  past  or  present.  But  we  are  only  beginning  to 
get  a  faint  concept  of  the  true  implications  of  the  term  equality  of  oppor- 
tunity. As  far  back  as  history  records  the  events  of  mankind  the  rural 
dwellers  have  lacked  educational  advantages  in  comparison  with  the  city  folk. 
It  is  beside  the  point  to  argue  that  it  is  the  countryman's  fault,  for  we  are  con- 
cerned only  with  the  boy  and  the  girl  who  are  to  be  our  American  citizens  to- 
morrow. 

Our  present  system  of  school  organization  produces  both  inefficiency  and 
inequality.  For  example,  in  some  school  districts  it  costs  less  than  one  dollar 
per  month  per  pupil  enrolled  to  maintain  the  school,  while  in  other  districts 
the  cost  amounts  up  to  $50  or  more  per  month  per  pupil  enrolled.  It  has  been 
found  that  the  average  cost  of  one-room  rural  schools  in  six  counties  in  Kan- 
sas is  less  than  $2  per  month  per  pupil,  whereas  the  average  cost  per  pupil  en- 
rolled in  six  other  counties  is  $10  per  month.  For  the  state  as  a  whole  the 
average  cost  of  one-teacher  schools  is  $8.50  per  month  for  each  child  in  average 
daily  attendance,  while  in  cities  of  the  second  class  the  average  cost  per  child 
in  average  daily  attendance  is  $5.74.    This  is  neither  equality  nor  efficiency. 

Throughout  the  various  communities  of  the  state  school  taxes  vary  from 
one-third  to  two-thirds  of  all  the  money  raised  by  taxation.  This  is  indis- 
putable evidence  of  the  importance  which  attaches  to  education  in  the  mind 
of  the  taxpayer.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  rising  costs  of  education 
have  reached  the  limit  which  agricultural  and  business  enterprise  can  bear. 

The  first  and  most  important  step  in  financing  education  at  the  present 
moment  is  not  more  money,  but  a  more  equitable  system  of  collecting  taxes 
and  distributing  the  funds  so  obtained.  The  second  and  more  remote  consid- 
eration is  the  suggestion  that  an  amendment  to  our  state  constitution  be  sub- 
mitted which  will  meet  our  constantly  growing  educational  costs,  that  we  may 
find  some  means  of  discovering  productive  agencies  other  than  real  estate  from 
which  revenues  may  be  derived. 

While  it  is  not  in  proper  order  to  do  so,  we  shall  discuss  the  latter  of  these 
first ;  someone  has  put  this  situation  in  the  following  way : 

"It  is  quite  true  that  the  ability  to  pay  is  limited.  Taxes  as  now  usually 
collected  are  from  real  property.  They  cannot  safely  go  beyond  the  difference 
between  the  rental  value  of  money  in  property  and  the  interest  value  of  this 
same  money  in  period  loans.    To  this  limit  property  is  certainly  coming  to  be 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations. 


35 


Cost  GrapK  Based  oil  Ernr  oil  me  xvt0 


Plate  7. 


36  State  School  Code  Commission. 

taxed.  Were  the  school  tax  the  only  tax  to  be  borne  the  funds  would  prove 
quite  adequate,  but  state,  county  and  municipal  taxes  add  a  greater  burden 
than  do  the  school  taxes  in  many  instances.  And  yet  these  taxes  are  quite 
necessary  and  fully  justifiable  in  the  eyes  of  the  American  citizen. 

It  would  seem  evident  then  that  new  sources  of  taxation  should  be  found. 
More  and  more,  also,  is  coming  the  conviction  that  the  adjustment  of  taxes  is 
not  fair.  At  one  time  wealth  rested  primarily  in  land  and  land  values.  To-day 
land  and  real  property  represent  only  about  one-eighteenth  of  the  actual 
wealth  of  the  world.  In  other  words,  less  than  one-ninth  of  all  property  or 
wealth  is  being  taxed  effectively  for  general  purposes.  Take  an  illustration: 
A  young  man  goes  through  grade  school,  high  school,  and  state  university,  all 
supplied  at  public  expense.  He  also  prepares  himself  for  the  law,  or  medicine, 
or  teaching,  or  engineering,  or  a  dozen  other  professional  or  semi-professional 
careers.  The  cost  of  producing  this  finished  man  has  represented  to  the  state 
from  $2,000  to  $10,000  actual  value.  He  sets  up  in  business  and  draws  an  in- 
come of  from  $1,000  to  $20,000  a  year  that  he  practically  consumes  in  one  way 
or  the  other.  Allowing  deposit  rate  at  4  per  cent  on  time  deposits,  his  capital 
value  to  himself  ranges  from  $25,000  to  $500,000  exclusive  of  cost  of  upkeep 
which  would  rep*esent  in  net  amounts  of  life  vitals  as  much  in  a  street  cleaner 
as  a  bank  president.  On  this  huge  capital  sum  actually  earning  returns  he  may 
not  pay  the  state  any  more  income  than  a  truck  farmer  tilling  one  acre  of  $500 
land,  if  as  much.  This  man  is  a  product  of  the  educational  system  produced 
and  conducted  by  property  tax,  and  yet  he  is  not  contributing  one  cent  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  same  system  he  is  consuming  the  wealth  of.  In  other  words, 
if  schools  are  to  be  conducted  correctly  as  to  modern  demand  they  must  have 
more  money.  This  money  should  not  all  come  from  property  tax,  but  should 
be  based  on  incomes,  such  as  it  will  aid  in  creating." 

Furthermore,  under  the  present  system  of  taxation  the  taxes  derived  from 
railroads,  oil  wells  and  refineries  and  immense  corporate  holdings  which  are 
either  public  utilities  or  natural  resources  which  never  properly  belong  to  a 
single  locality,  are  used  for  the  support  of  the  local  district.  In  such  cases  we 
find  district  A,  which  contains  a  line  of  oil  tanks  or  a  railroad,  paying  almost 
nothing  to  support  its  school,  while  the  adjacent  district  B,  which  has  a  very 
small  valuation,  struggles  under  a  levy  which  it  cannot  afford  to  pay.  Such 
is  the  case  in  Butler  county  where  district  No.  4  pays  .0008  mills  and  district 
No.  121  pays  9.5  mills,  or  11,975  times  as  much  for  their  school,  and  in  other 
counties  they  pay  as  high  as  16  mills,  or  20,000  times  as  much  as  district  No.  4. 

The  gross  inequality  of  the  system  of  school  taxation  lies  in  the  facts,  first, 
that  district  A  can  afford  a  nine  months'  school,  an  experienced  teacher,  an 
adequate  equipment,  and  pay  almost  no  millage  at  all;  second,  district  B  can 
barely  afford  a  seven  months'  school  and  perhaps  then  only  through  state  aid, 
and  an  inexperienced  eighteen-year-old  girl,  who  will  practice  without  super- 
vision or  direction  upon  the  helpless  children. 

Perhaps  the  most  equitable  system  of  taxation  would  be  a  combination  of 
(a)  a  tax  on  incomes  as  measures  of  ability  to  pay;  (6)  a  tax  on  nonneces- 
sities;  and  (c)  a  tax  on  all  the  taxable  property  of  the  nation.  The  funds  thus 
raised  should  be  spent  to  educate  all  the  children  of  all  the  people  as  nearly  as 
possible  up  to  the  maximum  of  their  ability  to  profit  by  such  education.  It 
is  for  the  whole  people  that  government  exists. 

This  method  is  at  the  present  not  practical.  The  next  most  equitable  sys- 
tem would  be  to  make  the  state  the  unit  for  the  support  of  education.  This 
is  possible  and  to  a  limited  extent  should  be  in  force  in  Kansas.  Unfortu- 
nately the  organic  law  of  the  state  provides  that  all  money  in  the  state  school 
fund  must  be  distributed  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of  children  between  the 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations. 


37 


BUTIXR-  CO.  TORX>  CO. 


MILL     TAX 


BUTLER,  CO.        TORI)  CO.           GRAY 
v — ' 

VALUATION 


Plate  8. 

Showing  relative  school  levies  and  valuations  in  certain  counties. 


38  State  School  Code  Commission. 

ages  of  five  and  twenty-one  years.  Statistical  investigations  show  that  this 
method  of  distribution  draws  heavily  on  the  sparsely-settled  areas  of  the  state 
and  pays  large  sums  into  the  treasuries  of  the  larger  cities,  especially  those 
having  large  foreign  elements.  Any  equitable  system  of  distributing  funds 
derived  from  taxes  for  education  must  consider  the  teacher  as  the  basis. 
Every  school  must  receive  a  certain  amount  of  funds  for  each  teacher  in  its 
employ,  because  there  must  be  a  teacher  whether  the  number  of  pupils  is 
five  or  twenty-five.  Every  community  must  have  at  least  one  school  and  one 
teacher,  whether  it  can  afford  it  or  not  and  regardless  of  whether  the  num- 
ber of  children  is  small  or  large.  That  is  why  the  distribution  of  a  tax  on  a 
per-pupil  basis  alone  is  almost  sure  to  be  wrong,  and  that  is  why  a  state  tax 
for  education  distributed  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  would 
be  wrong. 

The  School  Code  Commission  recommends  only  a  first  step  in  enlarging  the 
unit  of  taxation.  It  proposes  a  method  of  easily  combining  a  number  of 
small  districts  into  a  community  district,  and  a  taxation  district  composed  of 
all  the  areas  within  the  county  lying  outside  the  city  districts.  It  proposes 
to  levy  a  tax  on  the  property  of  this  county  district  in  an  amount  sufficient  to 
distribute  to  every  teacher  in  the  district  one-half  of  the  teacher's  salary  up 
to  a  sum  of  $50  per  month.  A  school  district  which  paid  its  teacher  $100  per 
month  would  receive  $50  per  month  from  the  common  fund;  one  which  paid 
$75  would  receive  $37.50.  The  same  rule  applies  to  all  high-school  teachers 
in  all  accredited  high  schools  in  the  community  school  districts  in  the  county. 
All  teachers  in  such  high  schools  would  receive  one-half  of  their  salary  up  to 
$50  per  month. 

This  provision  of  the  plan  proposed  seems  valid  for  the  two  following  rea- 
sons: First,  there  is  a  sense  of  justice  in  human  nature  which  suggests  that 
all  should  share  equally,  both  in  the  burden  of  taxation  and  in  the  educational 
opportunities  offered.  Second,  the  logical  outgrowth  of  this  is  that  the  poor 
district  will  not  be  obliged  year  after  year  to  select  the  poorest,  least  experi- 
enced and  least  qualified  teacher,  because  one-half  of  the  funds  for  the 
teacher's  salary,  which  is  the  chief  expense  in  maintaining  a  rural  school  and 
the  chief  item  of  expense  in  maintaining  any  school,  will  be  guaranteed. 

Another  recommendation  provides  for  the  payment  from  the  general  fund 
of  the  county  four  dollars  ($4)  per  month  per  pupil  resident  in  any  com- 
munity school  district  in  the  county  in  average  daily  attendance  upon 
the  high  school  of  that  district.  Community  high  schools  and  city  high  schools 
shall  receive  eight  dollars  ($8)  per  month  per  child  in  average  daily  at- 
tendance of  nonresident  pupils,  provided  that  permission  to  attend  the  com- 
munity high  school  or  the  city  high  school  has  been  obtained  from  the  county 
board  of  education.  The  county  board  has  the  authority  to  grant  permission 
to  attend  high  school  in  other  counties. 

The  essence  of  the  proposed  change  is  a  larger  taxing  unit  which  should 
lead  gradually  but  surely  to  a  larger  administrative  unit.  The  most  ex- 
pensive elementary  schools  in  the  state  are  the  one-room  rural  schools.  The 
most  expensive  high  schools  are  those  in  cities  of  the  third  class.  The  obvious 
need  of  the  situation  in  each  of  the  above  cases  is  a  larger  unit. 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  39 

Some  idea  of  the  effect  which  the  new  method  of  taxation  will  have  on 
community  and  common-school  districts  may  be  had  from  the  following  table : 

Amount   of   Taxable  Property  Per   Pupil   in   Average  Daily  Attendance,   1920-'21. 

Lowest  14  Highest  *4 

Median.                of  schools.  of  schools. 

1.  Cities  of  first  class $13,520             $8,650  or  less  $19,005  or  more 

2.  Cities    of    second    class 10,250                7,883  or  less  11,712   or  more 

3.  Cities    of    third    class 13,833                9,016  or  less  18,850   or  more 

4.  Rural    districts     33,570             22,520  or  less  48,740  or  more 

The  rural  district  has  by  far  the  greatest  wealth  per  pupil,  and  the  city  of 
the  second  class  has  the  least.  Where  the  typical  second-class  city  has  $100  of 
property  to  tax  for  its  schools,  the  typical  rural  district  has  over  $327.  Of 
course  these  figures  for  rural  districts  do  not  take  into  account  the  children 
attending  high  school  in  town  from  the  rural  district. 

The  fourth  of  the  rural  districts  having  least  valuation  have  more  taxable 
property  per  child  than  the  most  wealthy  fourth  of  the  cities  of  the  first,  sec- 
ond or  third  class.  The  table  which  follows  is  significant  with  reference  to  the 
amounts  which  people  are  paying  to  support  local  schools: 

Cost  per  Month  Per  Pupil  Enrolled  in  Elementary  Schools,  1920-'21. 

Median.  Lowest  %.  Highest  y±. 

1.  Cities  of  the  first  class $4.56  $3.67  $6.12 

2.  Cities  of  the   second   class 4.68  3.60  5.64 

3.  Cities  of  the  third  class 4.47  3.76  5.81 

4.  Two  or  more  teachers 5.50  ....  .... 

5.  One-teacher  schools   6.67  ....  .... 

The  tables  indicate  that  the  country  is  amply  able  to  pay  for  good  schools 
and  that  it  is  paying  an  exorbitant  rate  per  pupil  enrolled  for  the  quality  of 
service  it  is  receiving. 

The  community  school  district  will  bring  under  one  board  of  education 
schools  lying  within  its  confines.  In  all  matters  pertaining  to  taxation  and 
administration  the  community  school  district  will  be  a  unit.  It  will  widen  the 
area  of  taxation  and  centralize  and  focus  the  educational  effort.  The  county 
board  of  education,  which  will  have  general  supervision  of  the  levying  and 
distributing  of  taxes,  will  be  in  a  position  to  see  the  needs  of  the  various  dis- 
tricts in  some  perspective  and  adjust  boundaries  in  the  light  of  financial  as 
well  as  geographical  conditions. 

The  School  Code  Commission  through  the  proposed  law  hopes  to  increase 
the  efficiency  of  all  educational  institutions  in  the  small  towns  and  the  open 
country,  and  at  the  same  time  to  distribute  the  cost  in  a  way  that  it  will  not 
be  burdensome  and  excessive.  Kansas  has  the  money  to  educate  her  children. 
Tax]  layers  are  willing  to  pay  the  necessary  amount  provided  there  is  a  dollar's 
worth  of  educational  service  in  return  for  a  dollar  spent. 

It  will  be  noted  also  that  the  Commission  has  faced  squarely  the  issue  of  rec- 
ommending a  tax  amendment  to  the  constitution.  As  stated  before,  the  need  is 
so  imperative,  particularly  because  of  continually  increasing  school  costs  if  for 
no  other  reason,  that  they  emphasize  it  again.  New  sources  of  revenue  must 
be  found  and  these  should  come  from  the  producing  agencies  of  society  that 
have  been  heretofore  contributing  but  little,  if  anything,  to  society's  welfare. 
Just  what  proportion  of  our  country's  annual  income  is  actually  devoted  to 
public  education,  it  seems  impossible  accurately  to  state,  although  it  is  esti- 


40 


State  School  Code  Commission. 


mated  that  not  more  than  $1.35  out  of  every  $100  is  used  for  that  purpose.  If 
this  estimate  is  even  approximately  correct,  we  can  readily  see  that  there  are 
vast  resources  of  untouched  wealth  yet  available.  An  amendment  to  the  state 
constitution  will  be  the  first  step  in  bringing  these  resources  to  our  relief. 

Kansas  people,  from  the  first,  have  been  largely  of  a  pioneering  type  and 
for  this  reason  the  Commission  has  no  hesitation  in  recommending  to  their 
consideration  a  change  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the  commonwealth.  A  care- 
ful study  of  this  entire  problem  will  reveal  this  to  be  the  most  important  single 
asset  that  could  come  to  the  schools  of  the  state. 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  41 


IV.  COUNTY  BOARDS  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  public-school  system  of  America  is  administered  by  boards  of  educa- 
tion. The  quality  of  service  rendered  by  boards  of  education  in  towns,  coun- 
ties and  cities  is  perhaps  superior  to  that  of  any  other  body  of  public  servants 
in  the  state  and  nation.  The  fact  that  a  candidate  seeking  the  office  of  school 
board  member  is  to  govern  the  schools  which  come  into  the  most  intimate 
contact  with  the  lives  of  boys  and  girls  has  evidently  quickened  the  mind  of 
the  elector.  A  long  record  of  efficient  and  honorable  service  has  made  mem- 
bership on  the  school  board  a  badge  of  distinction. 

It  should  be  said  that  a  board  of  education  is  designed  to  be  a  small  body 
of  governors  directing  the  general  policy  of  a  much  larger  number  of  em- 
ployees. This  is  always  the  case  in  business,  and  in  our  towns  and  cities  the 
board  performs  that  function.  When  one  examines  the  administration  of  the 
rural  schools,  one  finds  the  anomalous  situation  of  three  members  of  a  board 
of  education  directing  the  affairs  of  one  teacher  and  one  school. 

For  the  7,500  rural  teachers  in  Kansas  there  are  approximately  22,000 
school-board  members.  Such  members  preclude  the  possibility  of  any  unity  of 
effort  or  continuity  of  policy  within  an  area  which  geographically  and  politi- 
cally constitutes  a  unit.  The  county  is  broken  up  into  an  almost  incredible 
number  of  small  and  feeble  independent  districts  which  find  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing candidates  for  the  members  of  the  school  board  and  in  which  the  boards 
frequently  have  no  chance  to  obtain  adequate  information  on  the  problems  of 
education.  They  want  a  good  school,  but  have  little  means  of  determining 
what  constitutes  a  good  school.  The  districting  of  the  county  in  such  a  way 
as  to  secure  educational  efficiency  and  economy  is  the  job  of  a  board  with 
jurisdiction  not  of  a  single  one-room  school,  but  of  all  the  county  outside  of 
city  districts.  For  this  important  function  there  should  be  a  board  of  education 
for  the  county. 

The  School  Code  Commission  does  not  propose  to  change  the  method  of 
local  control  of  schools,  however.  Local  boards  of  education  will  still  perform 
in  general  the  important  functions  they  now  do.  Furthermore,  no  change  is 
recommended  in  the  plan  of  district  meeting.  The  town  meeting  or  local 
gathering  from  earliest  history  has  been  the  training  school  for  democratic 
citizenship.  The  Commission  is  compelled  to  recognize  the  fact,  however,  that 
regardless  of  what  has  been  the  case,  our  horizon  has  expended,  distance  has 
been  overcome,  and  the  boy  who  would  now  become  an  efficient  citizen  must 
begin  early  to  think  in  terms  of  state,  nation  and  family  of  nations. 

Something  must  be  done  for  rural  education  which  will  increase  its  effective- 
ness. The  first  step  in  this  direction  is  taken  in  the  proposal  to  establish  a 
county  board  of  education  which  shall  have  jurisdiction  in  matters  of  financial 
support  and  district  boundaries.  A  recent  law  enacted  by  the  legislature  of 
the  state  of  Nebraska  reads  as  follows: 

"Article  1,  Section  1. — All  the  territory  in  any  county  of  the  state,  shall  be 
distributed  into  districts  for  high  school  and  consolidated  school  purposes  ac- 
cording to  and  under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

"Sec.  2. — Within  twenty  (20)  days  after  this  act  becomes  a  law,  the  county 
board  in  each  county  of  the  state  shall  meet  and  appoint  two  school  electors 
from  said  county  and  the  county  clerk  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  county  and 
6tate  superintendents  within  five  (5)  days;  and  such  two  persons  together  with 


42  State  School  Code  Commission. 

the  county  superintendent,  shall  constitute  a  committee  of  three  to  make  such 
surveys  and  investigations  as  will  determine  an  equitable  adjustment  of  the 
boundaries  of  districts  for  high  and  consolidated  schools  of  all  such  territory 
of  said  county." 

The  county  board  of  education  which  the  Commission  proposes  would  es- 
tablish order  in  the  chaos  which  now  exists  in  district  boundaries  and  by  a 
comprehensive  and  intelligent  survey  of  the  entire  county  lay  out  the  bound- 
aries of  future  districts  on  a  rational  basis.  It  is  a  notorious  fact  which  a 
glance  at  the  plates  on  pages  31  and  32  will  show  that  the  boundaries  of 
rural  high-school  districts  have  been  determined  by  considerations  quite 
foreign  to  sound  principles  of  educational  administration.  Sharp  angles  and 
ludicrous  irregularities  in  district  boundary  lines  are  often  times  evidence  of 
an  intrigue  to  eliminate  an  elector  and  include  his  property  for  taxation.  It 
is  also  true  that  petty  animosities  and  trivialities  have  affected  the  outline  of 
school  districts  and  reduced  the  accessibility  of  the  school  to  the  children  to 
whom  it  rightly  belongs.  The  proposal  of  the  Commission  is  to  establish  a 
board  of  education  who  shall  lay  out  the  entire  county  into  proposed  com- 
munity school  districts  excepting  those  parts  which  for  physical  reasons  are 
manifestly  inaccessible.  Although  the  decision  of  the  county  board  of  educa- 
tion with  respect  to  the  boundaries  of  any  district  will  be  subject  to  appeal  to 
higher  authority,  the  electors  will  still  have  a  vote  on  the  question  before  the 
larger  district  is  established,  and  will  have  the  benefit  of  a  comprehensive  and 
careful  survey  of  the  county  that  will  be  far  more  likely  to  organize  its 
schools  in  the  interest  of  the  educational  welfare  generally  than  under  present 
conditions. 

There  is  further  need  of  a  board  of  education  for  levying  the  tax,  as  well  as 
for  some  one  to  administer  the  funds  derived  from  taxing  the  areas  outside 
of  city  districts. 

It  will  be  noted  also  that  the  county  Board  of  Education  is  given  authority 
to  provide  regulations  for  determining  the  amount  of  county  tax  that  is  to  be 
levied  for  each  district  of  the  county.  It  would  seem  but  fair  that  the  tax 
payers  of  the  county  should  be  thus  protected  in  the  large  investment,  which, 
as  a  county,  they  are  making  to  the  educational  system  of  the  state.  The 
policy  that  has  been  practiced  in  the  past  of  levying  a  tax  upon  a  people  and 
not  permitting  the  same  group  to  have  a  voice  in  the  expenditure  of  that 
fund  is  entirely  undemocratic.  This  recommendation  means  that  the  county 
as  a  unit  will  have  a  direct  influence,  at  least,  upon  the  schools  which  it 
assists  in  supporting. 

The  county  board  of  education  is  not  an  experiment.  The  affairs  of  the 
county  are  at  the  present  administered  by  a  board  of  county  commissioners. 
County  high-school  boards  have  served  the  educational  interests  of  the  entire 
county  efficiently. 

Seventeen  states  of  the  Union  have  the  county  unit  of  school  administra- 
tion. Among  these  states  are:  Ohio,  California,  Washington,  Wisconsin  and 
Virginia. 

The  provision  for  a  county  board  for  the  purpose  of  districting  the  area 
outside  of  city  districts  and  levying  a  tax  which  shall  equalize  the  burden  of 
taxation  is  a  timely  and  logical  step  in  the  development  of  our  state  system 
of  public  education  which  is  designed  to  fulfill  the  injunction  of  Huxley,  "A 
system  of  education  extending  from  the  kindergarten  to  the  university." 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  43 


V.    STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION. 

In  considering  the  reorganization  of  the  State  Department  of  Education, 
the  Commission  has  been  confronted  with  one  of  two  alternatives:  First,  a 
change  in  the  constitution  of  the  state;  or,  second,  a  reorganization  of  the  de- 
partment without  a  change  in  the  constitution.  The  first  would  have  per- 
mitted the  .choosing  of  a  state  superintendent  by  appointment;  the  second 
would  retain  the  right  of  the  people  to  elect. 

Having  adopted  the  policy  of  being  a  unit  in  all  recommendations,  the 
Commission  concluded  that  it  was  impractical  to  ask  for  a  constitutional 
amendment.  It  was  recognized  that  the  theoretically  sound  and  modern 
method  of  choosing  a  highly  technical  or  professional  official  is  by  appointment, 
yet  the  Commission  could  hardly  consider  a  change  in  the  constitution  a 
practical  recommendation  at  this  time.  It  was  therefore  decided  that  the  Com- 
mission's recommendation  should  be  to  leave  this  an  elective  office  as  other 
state  offices  are.  When  they  considered,  however,  the  wide  influence  that  can 
be  exerted  by  the  office  and  its  possibilities  for  sendee  to  the  state,  they  were 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  only  those  of  the  broadest  training  and  the 
widest  experience  should  be  permitted  to  occupy  it. 

Now,  under  our  statutes  anyone,  however  ignorant  he  may  be  concerning 
public  education,  may  be  elected  on  a  partisan  ballot  to  supervise  and  lead 
the  educational  interests  of  this  great  state.  Since,  under  our  constitution, 
this  office  must  be  filled  by  election,  only  two  safeguards  can  be  established 
by  law.  The  first  is  to  fix  the  qualifications  necessary  to  hold  this  office  and 
the  second  is  to  place  the  salary  high  enough  to  secure  eminently  qualified 
candidates.  It  is  quite  possible  that  well-qualified  persons  may  be  induced 
to  become  candidates  provided  the  office  pays  an  attractive  salary.  Kansas 
should  profit  by  progressive  steps  that  have  been  taken  in  other  states  where 
the  commissioner  of  education  is  appointed  by  the  governor  or  by  a  board  of 
education  and  paid  a  salary  of  eight  or  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

This  Commission  recommends  that  the  qualifications  necessary  for  holding 
the  office  of  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  be  forty  months  of 
actual  teaching  experience,  eighteen  months  of  which  shall  be  in  a  position 
where  he  is  called  upon  to  supervise  the  work  of  other  teachers,  and  a  master's 
degree  with  a  major  study  in  education  granted  by  an  approved  graduate 
school  or  graduate  study  equivalent  thereto.  It  further  recommends  that  the 
legislature  fix  the  salary  at  four  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

But  little  argument  should  be  necessary  to  support  these  two  proposals.  It 
would  appear  absurd  to  have  as  the  educational  leader  of  Kansas  a  person 
altogether  out  of  touch  with  public  school  work.  It  would  be  almost  as 
absurd  to  place  in  the  office  a  person  who  has  had  experience  as  a  teacher 
only.  The  duties  of  the  office  are  largely  administrative  and  executive. 
Among  the  duties  to  be  performed  by  the  state  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction and  the  state  board  of  education  are  the  following: 

(a)  Administering  of  vocational  education. 

(b)  Certification  of  teachers. 

(c)  Making  courses  of  study. 

id)  Approving  and  standardizing  schools, 
(e)  Supervising  teachers'  institutes. 


44  State  School  Code  Commission. 

The  most  pressing  educational  problem  in  the  state  is  the  improvement  of 
the  rural  schools.  The  success  that  all  hope  for  along  this  line  will  depend 
upon  the  wisdom  and  professional  training  of  the  educational  leader  who  is 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  state  school  system.  Unless  a  course  of  study  is 
made  which  is  carefully  adjusted  to  this  type  of  school;  unless  the  certifica- 
tion of  teachers  will  provide  for  these  school  teachers  especially  trained  for 
this  type  of  service;  and  unless  these  schools  are  accredited  on  the  basis  of 
sound  educational  and  financial  principles  there  will  be  little  use  to  plan  for 
such  new  schools. 

The  proposal  that  the  legislature  raise  the  salary  of  the  state  superintendent 
of  public  instruction  from  three  thousand  dollars  a  year  to  four  thousand 
dollars  a  year  seems  to  be  a  very  conservative  proposal  when  we  find  the 
heads  of  twenty  city  school  systems  in  Kansas  receiving  higher  salaries  than 
is  now  paid  to  the  head  of  the  public  school  system  of  the  state.  Doubtless 
the  chief  reason  why  the  city  schools  rank  higher  than  the  rural  schools  is 
that  for  several  years  the  cities  of  the  state  and  nation  have  invested  more 
for  efficient  supervision.  The  salary  proposed  for  the  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction  would  be  considerably  less  than  is  now  paid  in  many  cities 
of  this  state  and  to  many  superintendents  or  commissioners* of  education  in 
other  states. 

This  Commission  strongly  endorses  the  following  statements  concerning 
the  State  Board  of  Education  found  in  the  study  of  Supt.  W.  S.  Heusner,  of 
Salina : 

"The  law  of  the  state  of  Kansas  provides:  That  the  State  Board  of  Edu- 
cation shall  be  composed  of  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction, 
who  shall  be  ex  officio  chairman;  the  chancellor  of  the  State  University;  the 
president  of  the  State  Agricultural  College;  the  president  of  the  State  Normal 
School  at  Emporia;  the  president  of  the  State  Manual  Training  Normal 
School  at  Pittsburg;  the  president  of  the  Fort  Hays  Normal  School  at  Hays; 
and  two  county  or  city  superintendents  of  public  instruction;  and  a  county 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor  from 
any  county  in  which  none  of  the  foregoing  institutions  may  be  located. 

"It  will  be  noted  that  the  State  Board  of  Education  thus  constituted  is  es- 
sentially an  ex  officio  and  professional  organization,  since  the  majority  of  the 
members  are  holding  positions  thereon  by  virtue  of  other  positions  to  which 
they  have  been  elected.  According  to  accepted  standards  and  present  ad- 
ministrative practice  the  method  at  present  employed  in  selecting  the  State 
Board  of  Education  is  open  to  the  following  objections:  (1)  As  at  present 
organized,  the  members  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  are  chosen  in  three 
different  ways,  most  of  whom  have  no  responsibility  for  their  professional  acts, 
either  to  the  people  themselves  or  to  any  single  branch  of  the  state  govern- 
ment. Of  the  ex  officio  members  the  state  superintendent  alone  is  responsible 
to  the  people,  but  his  responsibility  relates  primarily  to  other  duties  than 
those  the  state  board  is  given  power  to  exercise.  The  ex  officio  members  of 
the  board  other  than  the  state  superintendent,  owe  direct  responsibility  to  the 
State  Board  of  Administraion  from  whom  they  receive  their  appointments. 
The  appointive  members  owe  their  direct  responsibility  to  the  governor  of  the 
state.  It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  a  plan  which  more  effectively  annuls 
direct  responsibility,  either  to  the  people  themselves,  or  to  any  single  branch 
or  department  of  state  government.  (2)  Five  of  the  ex  officio  members  of  the 
Board  are  chief  executive  officers  of  state  educational  institutions.  Permitting 
institutional  representatives  to  serve  as  members  of  a  board  which  determines 
state  educational  policies  is  contrary  to  sound  administrative  practice,  since 
such  members  must  necessarily  pass  upon  important  measures  which  may 
easily  affect  their  own  institutions.  (3)  But  three  of  the  members  of  the  board 
are  concerned,  primarily,  with  elementary  and  secondary  education.    But  one 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  45 

member,  the  county  superintendent,  is  concerned  primarily  with  the  rural 
elementary  school.  It  would  seem  that  the  elementary  and  rural  schools,  be- 
cause of  their  supreme  importance,  would  deserve  greater  representation  on  a 
board  composed  exclusively  of  experts  in  public-school  education." 

In  view  of  these  facts  the  Commission  recommends  that  the  State  Board  of 
Education  be  composed  of  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  and 
six  members  appointed  by  the  governor.  This  means  that  the  state  super- 
intendent of  public  instruction  would  bear  about  the  same  relation  to  the 
State  Board  of  Education  that  the  city  superintendent  of  schools  bears  to  the 
city  board  of  education.  It  also  means  that  the  state  superintendent  of  public 
instruction  would  initiate  most  of  the  plans  and  business  of  the  Board  not 
prescribed  by  law. 

In  order  that  the  members  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  may  not  labor 
under  the  impression  that  they  must  do  something  to  earn  their  salaries  the 
Commission  recommends  that  the  members  be  paid  legitimate  expenses  for 
travel  and  a  per  diem  allowance.  It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  the 
chief  duties  of  the  board  are  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  statute  and  to 
pass  upon  the  recommendations  and  policies  of  the  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction. 

In  order  that  the  board  may  have  more  or  less  permanency  and  continuity 
it  is  recommended  that  the  term  of  office  be  six  years  and  that  two  members 
retire  each  biennium.  A  short  term  of  two  years  would  not  be  satisfactory 
for  the  reason  that  it  would  take  that  much  time  for  the  members  of  the 
board  to  become  acquainted  with  their  duties  and  the  policies  of  the  depart- 
ment with  which  they  work. 


46  State  School  Code  Commission. 


VI.    SCHOOL  BUILDINGS  AND  SITES. 

Kansas  several  years  ago  entered  the  second  generation  of  schoolhouse 
construction.  The  plain,  box  schoolhouse  with  four  windows  in  each  of  the 
opposite  walls  will  soon  be  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
the  ornate  style  of  architecture  which  has  characterized  some  of  the  more 
expensive  buildings  built  more  recently. 

All  public  buildings  should  possess  three  qualities:  utility,  durability  and 
beauty.  Very  few  city  school  buildings  possess  these  qualities,  to  say  nothing 
of  rural  buildings. 

Very  frequently  school  boards  are  satisfied  if  they  can  secure,  at  a  low  cost, 
enough  floor  space  on  which  to  seat  the  school  population.  Little  attention  is 
given  to  the  volume  of  stationary  air  for  each  pupil;  to  the  relative  amount 
of  window  space  as  compared  to  floor  space;  to  the  quantity  and  kind  of 
radiation;  to  unilateral  lighting;  to  acoustical  treatment  of  ceilings;  to  the 
quantity,  temperature  and  humidity  of  the  air  supply;  to  the  adaptability  of 
floors  and  furniture;  to  the  relative  amount  of  corridor  space;  to  the  lo- 
cation, ventilation  and  number  of  toilets  and  drinking  fountains;  to  the 
capacity  and  adaptability  of  auditoriums;  to  the  system  of  cleaning  and  jani- 
torial service;  to  stairs,  fire  escapes  and  fire  hazards;  and  to  the  proper  loca- 
tion of  gymnasium,  shops  and  music  rooms. 

Every  one  who  has  built  a  home  or  a  business  house  realizes  how  im- 
portant it  is  to  consider  costs  as  well  as  needs.  Many  communities  have  spent 
almost  as  much  on  nonessentials  in  school  houses  as  they  have  spent  on 
essentials.  A  satisfactory  heating  plant  may  prove  less  expensive  than  one 
which  costs  half  the  money.  Occasionally  a  high-priced  ventilating  system  is 
installed  where  a  more  efficient  system  might  have  been  secured  for  much 
less  money.  Many  cases  could  be  cited  where  expert  advice  would  have  saved 
the  community  thousands  of  dollars  while  securing  the  most  serviceable  and 
efficient  building.  It  is  possible  to  avoid  the  plain  factory  type  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  ultra  ornate  and  extravagant  building  on  the  other.  This  expert 
service  in  school  building  construction  must  come  from  two  classes:  those 
who  have  had  wide  experience  in  building  school  houses  and  from  those  who 
have  had  wide  experience  in  using  them.  School  boards  come  and  go  and 
teachers  average  but  few  years  in  actual  teaching  experience.  These  condi- 
tions make  it  necessary  for  those  clothed  with  temporary  authority  to  seek 
the  best  advice  attainable. 

Probably  in  no  way  have  school  boards  offended  more  than  in  disregarding 
the  elements  of  beauty  in  school  buildings.  In  some  cases  the  offense  has 
consisted  in  extreme  simplicity  and  disregard  of  the  artistic,  while  in  other 
cases  real  beauty  has  been  sacrificed  for  the  ornate.  Here  again  expert  service 
is  necessary.  No  school  board  should  be  allowed  to  erect  a  building  until  the 
plans  have  been  approved  by  the  state  architect,  under  regulations  pre- 
scribed by  the  State  Board  of  Education. 

The  following  states  have  a  school-building  commission:  Delaware,  Idaho, 
Illinois,  Indiana,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Montana,  New 
Jersey,  New  York,  North  Dakota,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania  and  Wisconsin. 
In  some  of  these  states  a  school  building  code  setting  forth  in  detail  the  re- 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  47 

quirements  of  different  types  of  school  buildings  has  been  provided.  Authority 
should  be  vested  in  some  official  or  commission  to  see  that  proposed  school 
buildings  meet  all  such  requirements.  In  other  states  a  school-building  com- 
mission is  provided  for,  and  this  commission  is  given  power  to  formulate  defi- 
nite rules  and  regulations  governing  the  building  of  schoolhouses  and  the  in- 
spection of  the  same  while  under  construction.  Such  a  commission  also  pro- 
vides definite  regulations  relative  to  the  size  and  location  of  school  sites. 

The  Commission,  therefore,  recommends  that  all  school-building  plans  and 
alterations  amounting  to  $1,000  or  more  shall  be  approved  by  the  state  archi- 
tect under  regulations  established  by  the  State  Board  of  Education. 


48  State  School  Code  Commission. 


VII.    CERTIFICATION  OF  TEACHERS. 

One  of  the  chief  reasons  why  rural  schools  are  so  far  below  town  schools  in 
the  fundamental  things  in  education  is  because  the  teachers  are  so  poorly  pre- 
pared for  their  work  and  in  addition  thereto  have  so  many  subjects  and  grades 
to  teach.  This  is  no  reflection  against  them,  because  in  most  cases  they  do  re- 
markably well  when  the  type  of  training  which  has  been  available  for  them 
and  the  type  of  supervision  which  they  have  had  are  taken  into  account.  It 
cannot  be  denied,  however,  that  better  teaching  must  somehow  be  obtained 
for  rural  schools. 

In  Kansas,  up  to  date,  the  same  sort  of  preparation  is  taken  by  those  who 
intend  to  teach  in  the  rural  schools  as  by  those  who  intend  to  teach  in  any 
other  elementary  school.  The  certificate  which  qualifies  to  teach  in  one  place 
qualifies  to  teach  in  the  other  also.  What  we  need  to  guarantee  improvement 
in  teaching,  is  a  course  of  training  which  is  designed  to  prepare  teachers  for  a 
specific  type  of  teaching  job.  Then  when  the  prospective  teacher  has  finished 
that  course  of  training,  the  certificate  to  teach  should  entitle  the  holder  to 
teach  in  the  kind  of  school  for  which  the  training  was  designed  to  prepare 
him.  We  are,  therefore,  recommending  that  all  certificates  be  limited  in  their 
scope  to  the  kinds  of  jobs  which  the  holder  is  really  prepared  to  do  effectively. 
How  limited  these  certificates  are  to  be  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  State 
Board  of  Education.  It  would  be  manifestly  unfair  to  make  the  certificates 
so  much  limited  as  to  prevent  the  schools  from  obtaining  teachers.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  the  business  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  to  so  modify 
the  standards  of  teachers'  certificates  as  to  secure  as  quickly  as  possible  the 
best  trained  teacher  for  each  particular  type  of  teaching  situation. 

To  the  above  end,  all  teachers'  certificates  are  to  be  issued  by  the  authority 
cf  the  State  Board  of  Education  or  the  state  institutions  which  are  created  and 
supported  to  train  the  teachers  of  the  state.  To  be  sure,  the  State  Board  of 
Education  may  use  such  county  boards  as  at  present  exist  or  may  use  any 
other  divices  which  are  necessary  to  help  them  determine  what  persons  are 
qualified  to  teach.  Responsibility,  however,  will  rest  with  the  State  Board 
of  Education,  and  only  as  they  delegate  this  responsibility  to  other  authorities 
will  there  be  any  other  agency  for  the  issuance  of  certificates  to  teachers  than 
that  of  the  State  Board  of  Education. 

The  same  purpose  holds  true  in  connection  with  high-school  certificates. 
At  present  a  person  graduating  from  college,  having  a  minimum  number  of 
hours  in  education  courses,  is  certified  to  teach  any  subjects  in  the  high  school. 
California,  86  per  cent  of  teachers  have  at  least  two  years  of  work  above  high 
On  this  account,  it  happens  that  a  great  many  high-school  teachers  in  Kansas 
are  now  teaching  subjects  for  which  they  have  had  almost  no  preparation. 
If  limited  certificates  are  issued,  then  prospective  teachers  will  select  in  college 
combinations  of  courses  most  commonly  called  for  in  high-school  teaching. 
Superintendents  and  boards  of  education  will  be  careful  in  the  selection  of 
teachers  to  find  those  who  have  had  preparation  in  teaching  the  subjects  to 
which  they  must  be  assigned.  To  be  sure  the  state  will  have  to  move  cau- 
tiously in  these  directions  and  not  make  the  standards  of  requirement  so  high 
as  to  make  it  impossible  for  the  schools  to  find  teachers.    There  is  little  dan- 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  49 

ger,  however,  of  embarrassment  in  this  direction  if  discretion  is  left  with  the 
State  Board  of  Education. 

State  institutions  for  the  training  of  teachers  are  quite  inadequate  to  se- 
cure a  sufficient  list  of  properly  trained  teachers  as  standards  of  requirements 
continue  to  be  raised.  Under  present  conditions,  the  plan  of  normal  training 
in  high  schools  is  not  proving  wholly  effective  as  a  supplement  to  the  state- 
supported  institutions. 

It  is  proposed,  therefore,  that  the  State  Board  of  Education  may  accredit 
normal  training  departments  in  highly  efficient  high  schools.  That  the  board 
shall  have  at  its  disposal  a  state  appropriation  for  reimbursing  these  schools  in 
proportion  to  the  service  rendered  the  state.  It  is  thus  hoped  that  these 
well-equipped  and  approved  high  schools  may  become  not  only  teacher-train- 
ing institutions  but  will  encourage  the  establishment  of  a  post-graduate  course 
of  one  year,  thus  meeting  the  suggested  requirement  of  one  year  of  work  be- 
yond the  regular  high-school  course  as  the  minimum  preparation  soon  to  be 
required  for  all  teachers.  For  this  advanced  work,  it  would  seem  that  the  state 
should  in  some  way  subsidize  these  schools  and  it  is  believed  that  the  state 
fund  now  appropriated  for  normal  training  work  in  high  schools  would  be 
much  more  wisely  expended  by  this  arrangement. 

Another  change  which  the  School  Code  Commission  is  suggesting  is  an  in- 
crease soon  to  twenty  years  as  the  minimum  age  of  teachers.  At  present  the 
typical  beginning  teacher  in  the  country  schools  is  a  girl  eighteen  years  of  age. 
One  of  the  most  responsible  aspects  of  education  is  thus  put  in  the  hands  of 
persons  too  immature  to  be  able  to  assume  that  responsibility.  Maturity  is 
one  of  the  essentials  for  successfully  handled  problems  of  childhood,  and  it  is 
thought  to  make  the  minimum  age  for  teachers  at  least  twenty.  Finally, 
with  this  increase  of  minimum  age,  it  is  recommended  to  make  soon  the 
minimum  professional  requirement,  at  least  one  year  of  training  beyond  high 
school.  No  one  can  now  pass  an  examination  for  admission  to  the  bar  as 
lawyer  in  Kansas  who  has  not  had  at  least  five  years'  work  beyond  the  high 
school.  No  one  can  be  admitted  to  the  examinations  for  a  license  to  practice 
medicine  who  has  not  had  six  years  of  training  beyond  high  school.  Surely  it 
is  time  for  the  state  of  Kansas  to  begin  to  regard  the  responsibilities  of  the 
teacher  in  the  successful  development  of  the  state  as  comparable  in  some  slight 
degree  with  the  responsibilities  of  the  lawyer  and  the  doctor.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  before  another  decade  we  can  at  least  have  reached  the  requirement  of 
two  years  of  training  above  high  school  as  a  minimum  for  entrance  into  the 
profession  of  teaching.  To-day  only  42  per  cent  of  the  teachers  in  Kansas  hold 
certificates  requiring  two  years  or  more  of  work  above  high  school;  while  in 
California  86  per  cent  of  teachers  have  at  least  two  years  of  work  above  high 
school;  in  Arizona,  89  per  cent;  in  Connecticut,  90  per  cent;  in  Massachusetts, 
86  per  cent;  in  New  York,  82  per  cent;  in  Oregon,  79  per  cent;  and  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, 67  per  cent.  Kansas  must  step  up  among  these  states  in  respect  to  the 
qualifications  of  teachers. 


4 — Sch.  Code— 4558 


50  State  School  Code  Commission. 


VIII.    VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION. 

Public  schools  have  long  been  criticized  for  not  offering  the  same  oppor- 
tunity for  a  man  who  wishes  to  make  his  living  at  automobile  mechanics  as  it 
does  for  the  man  who  wishes  to  make  his  living  at  practicing  law.  The  state 
supports  education  through  grades  and  high  school  and  through  five  years  of 
work  beyond  high  school  for  a  man  who  is  to  become  a  lawyer.  If  a  man 
wishes  to  become  an  automobile  mechanic,  he  must  go  to  some  private  tech- 
nical school  and  pay  a  very  high  rate  of  tuition.  It  will  be  agreed,  however, 
that  the  welfare  of  the  state  demands  that  the  same  opportunity  be  given  to 
hand  workers  as  to  brain  workers  to  get  the  preparation  for  their  callings  at 
state  expense.  It  is  proposed,  therefore,  that  a  system  of  vocational  schools 
be  developed  under  the  direction  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  among  the 
high  schools  of  the  state  and  that  adequate  state  subsidy  be  afforded  these 
schools  in  order  to  take  care  of  the  very  costly  nature  of  the  vocational  train- 
ing. The  Smith-Hughes  fund  as  provided  by  the  federal  government  con- 
stitutes a  beginning  step  in  this  direction,  but  that  will  probably  not  be  ade- 
quate for  a  proper  system  of  vocational  education;  and  it  is  deemed  wise  to 
make  provision  for  the  State  Board  of  Education  to  accredit  enough  high 
schools  to  provide  opportunity  to  the  young  people  of  the  state  to  get  them- 
selves ready  for  vocational  efficiency.  When  it  is  remembered  that  shop  ap- 
prentices, in  addition  to  paying  a  very  costly  price  for  their  education  are 
estimated  by  Mr.  James  M.  Dodge,  a  prominent  American  manufacturer,  to 
have  an  earning  capacity  equal  to  an  investment  of  $15,000,  while  a  trade- 
school  graduate  has  an  earning  capacity  equal  to  an  investment  of  $25,000, 
it  is  certainly  evident  that  the  state  cannot  afford  to  continue  this  very  costly 
and  inefficient  system  of  vocational  training. 

Some  of  the  best  vocational  work  now  done  in  the  state  of  Kansas  is  being 
done  in  the  county  high  schools  where,  because  of  the  very  low  levy  necessary, 
they  have  been  able  to  maintain  a  much  more  expensive  type  of  education 
than  has  been  possible  in  the  city  high  schools.  However,  counties  are  now 
withdrawing  their  support  from  these  high  schools  as  other  high  schools  are  de- 
veloping in  the  county  and  it  is  becoming  increasingly  difficult  for  these  county 
high  schools  to  maintain  the  excellent  standards  in  the  vocational  work  which 
have  been  built  up  in  some  of  them.  It  is  believed  that  the  State  Board  of  Ed- 
ucation would  find  it  advisable  to  designate  certain  of  these  strongest  county 
high  schools,  with  particular  regard  to  location,  attendance,  and  potential  possi- 
bilities, when  they  have  been  made  community  district  schools  or  city  district 
high  schools,  as  institutions  for  vocational  training.  This  would  make  possi- 
ble the  continuation  of  the  excellent  vocational  work  now  being  done  and  the 
expansion  of  it  to  certain  other  centers  which  have  facilities  to  do  vocational 
work.  This  would  save  the  equipment  of  these  high  schools  and  capitalize 
the  splendid  contribution  which  many  of  them  have  already  made. 


Arguments  Supporting  Recommendations.  51 


IX.  LENGTH  OF  THE  SCHOOL  TERM. 

A  minimum  school  term  of  not  less  than  160  days  in  any  school  year  seems 
to  have  become  a  necessity.  We  note  that  the  average  school  term  in  the 
one-teacher  schools  in  the  state  is  147  days;  in  all  other  schools  it  is  174  days. 
The  Commission  recognizes  the  charges  that  have  been  made,  and  are  made  in 
this  report,  of  the  backwardness  of  the  child  in  the  country  school.  It  is  our 
firm  conviction  that  no  single  cause  contributes  more  directly  to  this  condition 
than  does  this  disparity  in  the  length  of  the  school  year.  If  an  equal  educa- 
tional opportunity  for  all  children  of  the  state  is  to  be  offered,  we  cannot  rec- 
ommend less  than  160  days  as  the  minimum  school  term.  Careful  study  of  the 
changes  recommended  in  this  report  will  reveal  that  this  requirement  can  be 
accomplished  without  working  a  hardship  upon  any  district. 


X.  TRANSPORTATION  FOR  SCHOOL  CHILDREN. 

The  difficulties,  state  wide  in  their  scope,  that  any  specific  law  might  seek 
to  overcome  in  providing  transportation  facilities  to  school,  are  so  numerous 
and  varied  that  the  Commission  refrains  from  any  specific  recommendations 
other  than  that  the  State  Board  of  Education  shall  prescribe  these  regulations. 
By  doing  this  there  is  given  flexibility  enough  to  the  authority  of  the  local 
boards  and  the  state  board  that  any  particular  situation  may  be  satisfactorily 
adjusted.  There  can  be  no  question  of  the  obligation  of  the  state  to  assist  the 
home  in  overcoming  the  obstacle  of  distance  to  school.  The  adjustment  of 
that  obligation  to  the  variety  of  conditions  that  may  prevail  is  one  that  must 
be  accomplished  only  through  a  definite  knowledge  of  the  particular  situation 
and  a  just  application  of  the  principle  that  an  equal  educational  opportunity 
shall  be  given  all  children. 


Part  III. 

DATA  BEARING  UPON  THE 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Out  of  the  great  amount  of  data  collected  by  the  subcommittees  of  the 
research  committee  of  the  Kansas  State  Teachers'  Association,  space  in  this 
volume  will  permit  of  publishing  but  a  small  amount.  On  the  following  pages 
will  be  found  data  on  these  points : 

PAGES. 

I.   Number  and  size  of  schools  of  various  types 53-54 

II.   Comparative  costs  of:    (a)  elementary  schools  of  various  types; 

and  {b)  high  schools  of  various  types 55-56 

III.  Comparative  property  valuation  and  taxation  rates  of  districts 

of  various  types 57-58 

IV.  Achievement  of  pupils  in  schools  of  various  types  as  measured 

by  standardized  tests  59-67 

V.  County  organization  and  administration 68 

VI.  State  organization  and  administration 69-71 

VII.  School  building  regulations   72 

VIII.  Certification  of  teachers * 73 

IX.   Training,  experience,  salaries  and  tenure  of  teachers  in  various 

types  of  schools  74-75 

X.   The  standing  of  Kansas,  educationally 76 


(52) 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations.  53 


I.    NUMBER  AND  SIZE  OF  SCHOOLS. 

Recommendations  of  the  School  Code  Commission  affect  particularly  rural 
schools,  both  one-room  elementary  schools  and  rural  high  schools.  The  follow- 
ing data  are  provided  to  show  particularly  comparisons  between  one-room 
schools  and  other  types  in  several  particulars : 

General  Statistics  for  1919- '20. 

a.  Number  of  Schools. 

One-teacher  schools    7,639 

Two-  or  more-teacher  schools  outside  cities  of  first  and  second  classes 884 

Cities  of  the  second  class 77 

Cities  of  the  first  class 10 

County   high   schools 27 

b.  Teachers  Employed. 

One-teacher  schools   7,624 

Two-  or  more-teacher  schools  outside  cities  of  first  and  second  classes, 

elementary    2,996 

high  school    1,827 

4,823 

Cities  of  the  second  class,  elementary   1,715 

high   school    851 

2,566 

Cities  of  the  first  class,  elementary 1,369 

high  school  396 

1,765 

County   high    school 211 

c.  School  Census. 

One-teacher  schools    , 207,241 

Two-  or  more-teacher  schools  outside  cities  of  first  and  second  classes 124,555 

Cities  of  the  second  class 99,959 

Cities  of  the  first  class 90,702 

d.  Average  Length  of  School  Term. 

Weekt. 

One-teacher  schools   29.3 

Two-  or  more-teacher  schools  outside  of  cities  of  first  and  second  classes 34.6 

Cities  of  the  second  class 35.8 

Cities  of  the  first  class "86.8 

County  high   schools 36.0 

e.  Average  daily  attendance  per  teacher.  While  the  average  daily  attend- 
ance per  teacher  in  city  schools  is  315  pupils,  the  average  daily  attendance 
of  the  one-teacher  rural  schools  averages  13.0  pupils.  One-fourth  of  the  one- 
teacher  rural  schools  have  an  average  daily  attendance  of  9.5  pupils  or  less. 

/.  High-school  enrollments  in  small  high  schools.  There  were  in  1920-'21 
163  high  schools  in  Kansas  with  enrollments  from  25  to  49,  and  109  high  schools 
in  Kansas  with  enrollments  less  than  25. 

g.  Enrollments  in  various  classes  of  high  schools,  1920-21: 

All  rural   high   schools '. 12,809 

All  county    high    schools 4,074 

All  first-class    cities    10,102 

All  second-class   cities    20,871 

All  third-class  cities   20,151 

Total  for  state 68,007 

*  This  low  average  is  due  to  the  interruption  of  school  caused  by  the  influenza  epidemic  in 
two  cities.    All  cities  of  the  first  class  have  a  regular  term  of  36  weeks. 


54 


State  School  Code  Commission. 


Chart  1.    Teachers  employed,  Kansas,  1919- i. 
Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllipillllllllllll  7,634 

One-teacher  schools. 


Elem.  H.  S. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli 
Village  schools. 

Elem.         H.  S. 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii  minimi  2.566 

Cities  second  class. 

Elem.     H.  S. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII     L765 
Cities  first  class. 

II!  211 

County  high  schools. 


4.823 


Chart  2.   Number  pupils,  Kansas  census  1919-i 

207,241 


One-teacher  schools. 


I 
Village  schools. 


124.555 


99,959 
Cities  second  class. 


90,702 
Cities  first  class. 


Chart  3.  Average  length  school  term,  Kansas,  1919-SO. 


Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllimilllllllll 

County  high  schools. 


Cities  first  class. 


Cities  second  class. 


Village  schools. 

illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 
One-teacher  schools. 


36.0 


35.3 


35.8 


34.6 


29.3 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations.  55 


II.    COMPARATIVE  COSTS. 

The  recommendations  of  the  Commission  are  intended  to  make  it  easy  to 
combine  small  schools  into  larger  districts,  primarily  on  account  of  their  pres- 
ent inefficiency  and  their  excessive  cost.  Figures  are  here  given  to  show  the 
comparative  costs  of  small  schools  and  large  schools. 

A    Monthly  cost  per  pupil  enrolled  for  year  1920-'21 : 

In  elementary  schools: 

(a)   In  cities  of  the  first  class $4 .  56 

(6)  In  cities  of  the  second  class 4.68 

,         (c)   In  two-  or  more-teacher  schools 4 .  47 

(d)  In  one-teacher  rural  schools 6 .  67 

In  high  schools: 

(a)  In  cities  of  the  first  class 9.10 

(fc>)  In  cities  of  the  second  class 9.79 

(c)  In  cities  of  the  third  class 12.00 

B.  Annual  cost  per  pupil  enrolled  in  one-room  rural  schools. 

(a)  With  enrollments  above  20 $42.33 

(6)  With  enrollments  of  16-20 49 .  18 

(c)  With  enrollments  of   11-15 75.38 

(d)  With  enrollments   of     6-10 93.34 

(e)  With  enrollments  of     1-   5 181.79 

C.  Average  annual  cost  per  pupil  enrolled  in  high  schools  of  various  sizes. 

(a)  These  enrolling  from  500-1,000 $94 . 35 

(6)  Those  enrolling  from  200-     500 108.80 

(c)  Those  enrolling  from  100-     200 109 .  20 

(d)  Those  enrolling  from     75-     100 114.15 

(e)  Those  enrolling  from     50-       75 139.60 

(/)   Those  enrolling  from     25-       50 163.25 

(g)  Those  enrolling  fewer  than   25 211.75 

(h)  Average  for  all  rural  high  schools 115.15 

(i)   Average   for  state,   all    schools 119.35 

Chart  4.    Cost  per  month  per  pupil  enrolled,  Kansas,  1919-20. 

ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS. 

4.56 


Cities  first  class. 

4.68 


Cities  second  class. 

4.47 


Village  schools. 

6.67 


One-teacher  schools. 

HIGH  SCHOOLS. 


Illl 

Cities  first  class 


Cities  second  class. 


Cities  third  class. 


56  State  School  Code  Commission. 


Chart  5.   Annual  cost  per  pupil  enrolled  in  one-room  rural  schools, 
Kansas,  1919-20. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllll  48.38 
With  enrollments  above  20. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllll   49.18 
With  enrollments  of  16  to  20. 

Illlllllllllllinilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  75.38 
With  enrollments  of  11  to  15. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  93.34 
With  enrollments  of  6  to  10. 


With  enrollments  of  1  to  5. 


Chart  6.   Average  cost  per  pupil  enrolled  in  Kansas  high  schools,  1919-20. 


94.35 
High  schools  enrolling:  500  to  1000. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHII  108.80 
High  schools  enrolling-  200  to  500. 

[Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll   109.20 
High  schools  enrolling  100  to  200. 

Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.  U4.15 
High  schools  enrolling  75  to  100. 

Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  139-60 
High  schools  enrolling  50  to  75. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII   163.25 
High  schools  enrolling  25  to  50. 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii  3ii-75 

High  schools  enrolling  fewer  than  25. 

iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii  113-15 

All  rural  high  schools. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  H9-35 
All  high  schools  of  state. 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations.  57 


III.    COMPARATIVE  PROPERTY  VALUATION  AND  TAX- 
ATION RATES. 

A.  Taxable  property  per  pupil  in  average  daily  attendance,  1920-'21. 

Average. 

(a)  Cities  of  first  class $13,520 

(o)   Cities  of  second  class    10,250 

(c)  Cities  of  third  class   13,833 

(d)  Rural   districts    33,570 

B.  School  tax  levy  in  mills,  1920-'21.  Average 

mill  tax. 

(a)  Cities  of  first  class $12.30 

(6)  Cities  of  second  class 14 .  38 

(c)  Cities  of  third  class    9-93 

(d)  Rural  districts    3.44 

(e)  Rural  high  schools  (average  of  15  high  schools  chosen  at  random) 6.70 

C.  Valuation  per  pupil  in  high  school  in  various  types  of  high-school  dis- 
tricts, 1920- '21. 

(a)  All   rural    high    schools $50,540 

(b)  All  county  high  schools  (net) 105,055 

(c)  All   first-class  cities    44,655 

(d)  All  second-class  cities  18,560 

(e)  All  third-class  cities,  excluding  rural   high  schools 19,155 

D.  Variations  in  taxation  rates.    Four  typical  counties  reveal  the  following 
variations  in  tax  rates  in  1920  for  the  support  of  one-teacher  schools : 

In  Brown  County: 

14  districts   levied    less   than 2       mills 

8  districts  levied  more  than 4       mills 

In  Chautauqua  County: 

4  districts  levied   less   than 3       mills 

7  districts  levied  more   than 10       mills 

In  Marshall  County: 

11  districts   levied    less    than 2       mills 

13  districts  levied   more  than 4       mills 

In  Montgomery  County: 

7  districts   levied    less   than 2.5  mills 

26  districts  levied   more  than 5       mills 

Of  the  105  counties,  the  average  of  the  levies  made  in  all  the  one-teacher 
districts  of  the  state  in  1920  shows  that  13  counties  levied  less  than  3  mills 
and  9  counties  levied  more  than  6  mills. 

These  variations  show  the  great  need  for  a  larger  unit  of  taxation. 


58  State  School  Code  Commission. 


Chart  7.    Taxable   property  per  pupil  in  average   daily  attendance, 
Kansas,  1920-21. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll   13.520 
Cities  first  class. 

Illlllillllllllllllllllll    10,250 
Cities  second  class. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll   13.833 
Cities  third  class. 


Rural  districts. 


Chart  8.   School  tax  levy  in  mills,  Kansas,  1920-21. 

Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll   12.30 
Cities  first  class. 


Cities  second  class. 

9.93 


Cities  third  class. 

Illlllillllllllllllllllll!  3.44 
Rural  districts. 


Chart  9.    Valuation  per  pupil  in  high  school  in  various  types  of  high  school 
districts,  Kansas,  1920-21. 

Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll   50.540 
All  rural  high  schools. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN  105.055 

All  county  high  schools. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  44.655 
All  first-class  cities. 

18,560 
411   second-class  cities. 

19.155 
All    third-class   cities    (excluding   rural    high   schools). 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations.  59 


IV.    ACHIEVEMENT  OF  PUPILS. 

The  most  significant  data  tending  to  show  that  the  rural  schools  must  have 
better  teachers  and  more  adequate  supervision  is  that  submitted  below  on  the 
achievements  of  children.  With  the  use  of  thoroughly  standardized  tests 
which  were  given  under  identical  conditions  to  children  in  one-room  rural 
schools  and  to  children  in  village  schools,  and  the  papers  marked  by  specialists 
chosen  for  the  purpose,  we  make  up  the  following  comparative  tables  showing 
these  average  achievements. 

(a)  Spelling.  Average  number  of  words  correctly  spelled  out  of  20  words 
found  in  Ayres  Scale,  List  "W." 

i Grades ^ 

6.  7.  8. 

One-teacher    schools     3  5  9 

Third-class   cities    5  8  12 


(b)  Silent    Reading. 
Burgess  Scale. 

Av 

erage 

erage    m 

3. 
. . .      1.9 
, , .      2.9 

number 

3. 

imber    of 

4- 
3.7 
5.3 

of  examp 
l.i 

1.5 

1.5 
2.1 

.8 
1.6 

4. 
.6 
.6 

paragraphs    read 

correctly    in 

(c)  Arithmetic.     Av 
dard  Tests. 

Addition : 

5.   "             6. 

5.2  6.4 

6.8  7.3 

es  correct  from 

Grades 

5.                6. 
1.6              2.4 
2.4              2.8 

2.3  3.3 

3.6  5.5 

1.7  2.8 

2.9  3.5 

Grades 

5.                 6. 
.7              1.1 
.8              2.5 

7. 
7.4 
8.8 

Courtis 

7. 
3.0 
4.0 

5.1 
6.2 

3.7 
5.1 

7. 
1.9 
3.5 

8. 
8.7 
8.9 

Stan- 

8. 
3   7 

.7 

4  7 

Subtraction : 

.6 

6   7 

Third-class   cities    .... 
Multiplication: 

One-teacher  schools 

Division. 

One-teacher   schools 

.8 

• 

7.2 

5.0 
5.9 

8. 
3.9 

4.7 

(d)  Written  Composition.    Average  score  made  in  written  composition  test, 
Willing  scale. 

, ■■ Grades N 

3.  4-  5.  6.  7.  8. 

One-teacher   schools    16.5  21.0  27.4  29.0  34.1  36.5 

Third-class    cities    17.2  24.8  28.5  32.6  35.3  37.3 

(e)  Handwriting.    Average  score  made  in  Ayres  Scale,  Handwriting  test. 

, Grades , 

3.  4-  5.  6.  7.  8. 

One-teacher   schools    23.5  26.4  29.2  31.6  36.1  39.4 

Third-class    cities    28.13  31.6  33.1  36.5  41.8  39.7 


60  State  School  Code  Commission. 


Chart  10.  Pupil  achievement,  Kansas,  1921-22.    Spelling:    Average  number 
of  words  correctly  spelled  out  of  20  words,  Ayres  Scale,  List  "W." 


Ill  3 
One-teacher  schools. 


5 
Third-class  cities. 

Grade  7 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  5 
One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  8 


One-teacher  schools. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!  13 
Third-class  cities. 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations.  61 


Chart  11.   Pupil  achievement,  Kansas,  1921-22.     Silent  Reading:    Average 
number  of  paragraphs  read  correctly,  Burgess  scale. 
Grade  3 

lllllllllllllllllllllllll  !•» 

One-teacher  schools. 

Ill!lll!lllllllllllllllllllllllll!l  2-» 

Third-class  cities. 

Grade  4 

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  3.7 
One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  5 


One-teacher  schools. 


6.8 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  6 


6.4 


One-teacher  schools. 


7.3 


Third-class  cities. 


Grade  7 


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  7-4 
One-teacher  schools. 


8.8 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  8 


8.7 


One-teacher  schools. 


8.B 


Third-class  cities. 


62  State  School  Code  Commission. 

Chart  12.    Pupil  achievement,  Kansas,  1921-22.  Arithmetic:   Average  number 
of  examples  correct  from  Courtis  Standard  Tests. 

ADDITION. 

Grade  3 

llllllllll   •' 
One-teacher  schools. 

7 
Third-class  cities. 

Grade  4 

lllllillllllHIIIIIillHIII  i-i 

One-teacher  schools. 

illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllil  1-5 

Third-class  cities. 

Grade  5 

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillillll    "; 

One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 

Grade  6 

llllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllll  2-4 
One-teacher  schools. 


Tliird-class  cities. 

Grade   7 

lllllllllllllllll 
One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  8 


One-teacher   schools. 


Illlllllllllll 

Third-class  cities. 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations. 


63 


Chart  12 — Continued. 

SUBTRACTION. 


Grade  3 
.6 
One-teachef   schools. 


Third-class  cities. 

Grade  4 

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll    1  •"•' 

One-teacher  schools. 


2.1 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade   5 


One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  6 


One-teacher  schools 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade   7 


One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade   8 


One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 


|   3.6 


6.7 


64 


State  School  Code  Commission. 


Grade  4 


.8 


One-teacher  schools. 


1.6 
Third-class  cities. 

Grade  5 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE  i-? 
One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  6 


One-teacher  schools. 

I 
Third-class  cities. 

Grade  7 


One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  8 


One-teacher  schools. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillll 
Third-class  cities. 


Chart  12 — Continued. 

MUI/HPLIC  ATIO  N . 


2.9 


2.8 


3.5 


S.7 


5.1 

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  5.0 

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  5.9 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations. 


65 


Grade  4 

III   -6 
One-teacher  schools. 


nun  -e 

Third-class  cities. 


Chart  12 — Concluded. 

DIVISION. 


One-teacher  schools. 

.8 
Tliird-class  cities. 

Grade  6 

II    1.1 
One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 

Grade  7 

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  !■» 
One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  8 


One-teacher  schools. 


r  ->• 


Third-class  cities. 


5— Sch.  Code— 4558 


66  State  School  Code  Commission. 


Chart  13.    Pupil  achievement,  Kansas,  1921-22.    Written  Composition: 
Average  score  made  in  written  composition  test,  Willing  scale. 

Grade  3 

16.5 


17.2 


21.0 


One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  4 


One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  5 


iiiiiiii:iiiiiii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiniii:i  via 

One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 

Grade  6 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH 

One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  ' 


One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  8 


One-teacher  schools. 


32.6 


36.3 


Third-class  cities. 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations.  67 


Chart  14.    Pupil  achievement,  Kansas,  1921-22.    Handwriting:    Average 
score  made  in  Ayres  scale,  Handwriting  test. 

Grade  3 

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  23.5 
One-teacher  schools. 

||  28.13 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  4 


One-teacher  schools. 

iranmsKmtnunmtflTtiiiBiflmiBiaiuiHuumiHuimiJHniiiiniiiiiiiHunfflitinniiiiiiniiinn  31.6 

Third-class  cities. 

Grade  5 

IIIIIIIHIIIIII 
One-teacher  schools 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  6 


One-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade  7 


IIIIIU 

On 


e-teacher  schools. 


Third-class  cities. 
Grade   8 


One-teacher  schools 


36.5 


36.1 


39.4 


Third-class  cities. 


68  State  School  Code  Commission. 


V.    COUNTY  ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMINISTRATION. 

Data  based  on  facts  and  opinions  furnished  by  state  superintendents  of 
48  states: 

States. 

District   unit   of  administration 18 

County   unit    of    administration 17 

Township  unit  of  administration  6 

Town  unit  of  administration 3 

County  and  district  unit  of  administration 3 

Township  and   district  unit   of  administration 1 

County  superintendent  chosen  by  the  people  in    22 

County  superintendent  chosen  by  county   board    in    10 

County  superintendent  chosen  by  other  methods  in   16 

Superintendents  favor  election  of  county  supts.  by  people  in 5 

Superintendents  favor  appointment  of  county  supts.  by  county    board    in    25 

Superintendents  favor  appointment  of  county  supts.  by  other   methods  in 4 

States  making  no  report 14 

Superintendents  favor  a  county  board   in 29 

States  making  no  report 19 

Superintendents  favor  choice  of  county  supts.   from  county   in    4 

Superintendents  favor  choice  of  county  supts.   from  anywhere   in    30 

States  making  no  report 14 

Superintendents  favor  rural  or  community  high  schools  in 35 

States  making  no  report 13 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations.  69 

VI.    STATE  ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMINISTRATION. 

A.  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

(a)  Length  of  term  of  office: 

States. 

1  year   in 2 

2  years  in 14 

3  years  in 1 

4  years  in 24 

5  years  in   2 

6  years  in 1 

Indefinite    in     4 

2  years  in  Kansas. 

(6)  How  chosen: 

States. 

Elected  by  people  in    34 

Appointed  by  governor   in    6 

Appointed  by  state   board   of   education 8 

(c)  Salary: 

States. 

$1,600-2,000    ' 1 

2,100-   2,500     5 

2,600-3,000    7 

3,100-3,500     « 1 

3,600-   4,000     11 

4,100-4,500     4 

4,600-   5,000     10 

5,100-6,000     2 

6,100-   7,500     9 

7,600-   8,000    1 

8,600-   9,000     1 

9,600-10,000    2 

1 1 .600-12,000    1 

Average,   $4,671.50. 
Kansas,    $3,000.00. 


70 


State  School  Code  Commission. 


B.     State  Board  of  Education. 

Composition  of  State  Boards  of  Education. 

Table  from  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1920,  No.  46,  p.  10. 


Ex-officio  members. 

Appointed  or  elected  members. 

H 

0 

X 

0 

f 
0' 

1 

1 

o-g. 

3  EL 

f  to 

— 

:   °' 

•    c 
;    0 

:  0. 
:   5 

:  I 

t 
» 

States. 

O 

o 

< 

3 

o 

o 

c  — 

:  ^ 

5' 

■a  » 
-  - 

if 

5".= 
;    o 

5) 

<  -. 

■<  5- 

o 

:   » 
'.    c 

.      3_ 

3? 

—  E-' 
3  | 

3-0 

SO    ~" 
=  .£-' 
O  M 

EL-- 

sLI* 

-  — 

3* 

:   o 

:  U 

:  3 

"O 

a. 

So 

o' 

3 
O 

35 

3 
C- 

c 
o' 

3 

E. 

s- 

o 

2J 

o 

5" 

— 
c 

B> 

5' 

3 

O 

7T 

1° 
I'i 

^"< 

5   3 

•    cr 

Appointed  or 
elected  by — 

H 

3 
5' 
■< 

3 
c 
3 

0 

3 

c- 
0 
to 

3. 

1 
1 

1 
1 
1 

6 

Governor 

do 

12 

7 
4 

2 
5 
1 
0 
3 
2 
0 
5 
2 
1 
7 
6 
3 
1 
0 
1 
1 
0 
3 
4 
3 
3 
1 
0 
2 
0 
7 
2 
1 
3 
1 
2 
2 
1 
3 
3 
0 

3 

4 
1 
2 

1 

6 
3 
7 
7 
0 
9 
5 
0 
4 
5 
6 
3 
0 
5 
7 
6 
3 
5 
0 
0 
8 
0 
5 
8 
5 
12 
0 
3 
6 
0 
6 
6 
7 
9 
0 
6 
5 

5 

3 
6 

8 

6 

8 

1 

2 

3 

8 

7 

do 

8 

7 

do 

7 

2 
1 

1 

3 

1 

9 
5 

Governor 

do 

6 
5 

11 

5 

1 
1 

3 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

5 

3 

"5 
2 

1 
.... 

Governor 

do 

4 
5 

4 
2 
4 
5 
7 
3 
6 
5 

fi 

fi 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 
3 

3 

3 

3 

do  .. 

13 

do  .. 

9 

2 

3 

5 
7 
5 
3 
5 

Governor 

do 

fi 

7 

1 
1 

1 

do  .. 

7 

Popular  vote 

Governor 

4 

5 

2 
2 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 

3 

1 
1 
1 
1 

4 
4 

4 

8 

Governor 

11 

1 

3 

5 
8 
2 

Governor 

do 

5 
8 
4 
12 

fi 

8 

1 

1 

3 

12' 

do 

7 

State  legislature. 

12 

1 

5 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

7 

3 

4 

Governor 

do 

6 
6 

S 

2 

7 

1 

1 

3 

3 

3 
6 

7 
9 

State  legislature, 
do 

6 
6 
4 
6 

7 

1 

1 
1 

l 

1 

8 

1 

9 

10 

Texas     . 

2 

3 

Utah 

1 

1 

1 

6 
5 

Governor 

do 

6 
5 

8 

2 

6 

J5 

6 

9 

S 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 
1 
1 

5 

3 
3 

[■State  senate,  3 . . 
\State  board,  2... 

Governor 

do 

8 

7 

1 

1 

1 

3 
8 
6 

7 

1 

t 

10 

State     superin- 
tendent**. .  .  . 

7 

'Indefinite. 


inaennite. 
tGovernor  appoints  5  members,  university  board  of  regents  1,  normal  school  regents  1,  vocational  educa- 
tion board  1. 


{Governor's  appointees. 
"With  approval  of  governor. 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations.  71 

C.  Annual  Salaries  to  Members  of  Staff  of  State  Departments 
of  Education. 

Total  budget  for  salaries: 

States. 

$10,000-   19,000     in  3 

20,000-   29,000     in  10 

30,000-   39,000     in  10 

40,000-   49,000     in  6 

50,000-   59,000     in  6 

60,000-  69,000     in  2 

70,000-   79,000     in  1 

80,000-   89,000     in  4 

100,000-109,000     in  1 

113,590- in  1 

173,410- in  1 

233,350- in  1 

254,350- in  1 

822,900- in  1 

Total,  $3,488,606. 
Kansas,     $27,350. 

Average  per  capita  in  United  States   $0 .  0330 

Average  per  capita  in  Kansas    0.0154 

Thus  Kansas  is  found  to  be  spending  less  than  half  as  much  per  capita  as 
the  average  of  all  states. 

Chart   15.   Average  amount  paid  for  salaries  to  members  of  staff  of  state 
departments  of  education,  1919-20. 


72.67S 
Average  per  state. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll   37.350 
Kansas. 

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!  -0330 
Average  per  capita,  United  States. 

0154 
Average  per  capita,  Kansas. 


72  State  School  Code  Commission. 


VII.  SCHOOL  BUILDING  REGULATIONS. 

(a)  Kansas  spends  about  $3,000,000  annually  for  school  buildings  and  sites. 

(b)  Types  of  state  control,  summarized: 

States. 
State  officials,  as  state  superintendent,  commissioner  of  buildings,  or 

state  board  of  education    23 

County  superintendent 7 

Other  local  officials    3 

Board  of  health   for  certain  features 7 

No  control   other  than  that  exercised  by  officials  erecting  buildings,     9 

States  not  reporting 6 

States  duplicating  certain  above  items 7 

The  tendency  of  the  state  to  exercise  more  and  more  control  is  very  marked 
at  the  present  time.  A  tabulation  of  the  rules  and  regulations  in  force  now  as 
compared  with  those  in  force  in  1915,  made  by  Frank  Cooper,  of  Boston,  and 
published  in  a  recent  number  of  School  Life  showed  the  following: 

1915     Regulations  in  force   442 

Regulations  passed  since   1915    705 

1921     Regulations  in  force   1,147 

This  shows  an  increase  of  705  regulations  in  six  years! 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations.  73 


VIII.    CERTIFICATION  OF  TEACHERS. 

A.  Of  the  11,545  teachers  whose  certificates  are  accounted  for  in  the  re- 
port of  the  State  Superintendent  for  1920,  the  numbers  of  each  kind  are  as 
follows : 

First-grade   county   certificates    1,554 

Second-grade  county  certificates    2,285 

Third-grade   county   certificates    1,088 

Nornial-training    certificates     3,154 

State   certificates    3,464 

Total    11,545 

B.  Distribution  of  teachers  in  various  states  according  to  educational  train- 
ing. 

In  the  next  table  the  numbers  in  columns  opposite  the  name  of  the  state 
indicate  the  following:  Column  One — The  percentage  of  teachers  who  hold 
licenses  which  require  less  than  a  high-school  education.  Column  Two — The 
percentage  of  teachers  who  hold  licenses  which  require  a  high-school  educa- 
tion or  more.  Column  Three — The  percentage  of  teachers  who  hold  licenses 
which  require  two  years  of  collegiate  or  normal-school  education  beyond  a 
high-school  course. 

Column  1.  Column  2.  Column  3. 

Arizona    0  100  89 

Arkansas     87  13  12 

California     0  100  86 

Connecticut     0  100  90 

Florida    94  6  1 

Iowa    0  100  30 

Idaho     0  100  42 

Kansas    26  74  42 

Louisiana    15  85  67 

Massachusetts    1  99  86 

Mississippi    76  24  4 

Missouri    30  70  34 

Montana     23  77  34 

Nebraska     39  61  4 

New    Mexico    73  27  1'8 

New   York    0  100  82 

North  Carolina    51  49  23 

Ohio     8  92  42 

Oklahoma     73  27  22 

Oregon     0  100  79 

Pennsylvania    23  77  67 

South   Carolina    40  60  35 

South  Dakota    39  61  34 

Utah    0  100  69 

Vermont      6  94  29 

Washington     0  100  50 

West  Virginia    67  33  18 

Note. — The  figures  were  not  obtainable  for  all  the  states  but  these  are  typical  of  the 
entire  country. 


74  State  School  Code  Commission. 


IX.    TRAINING,  EXPERIENCE,  SALARY  AND  TENURE  OF 

TEACHERS. 

A.  Training.    In  1920  the  number  and  percentage  of  teachers  with  either 

less  than  high-school  training,  or  with  no  training  beyond  high  school,  teaching 

in  elementary  grades  were: 

For  one-teacher  schools,  6,106  out  of  7,624,  or 80% 

For  two-or-more-teacher  schools,   1,556  out  of  2,996,  or 52% 

For  schools  in  cities  of  second  class,  608  out  of  1,715,  or 31% 

For  schools  in  cities  of  first  class,  298  out  of  1,369,  or 22% 

B.  Experience.  In  1920,  2,294  out  of  7,624  one-room  rural-school  teachers, 
or  30  per  cent,  had  no  previous  teaching  experience.  In  15  typical  counties 
the  per  cent  of  teachers  in  1921-'22  who  had  had  no  previous  teaching  experi- 
ence was: 

For  one-teacher  schools 35% 

For  graded  schools 5  % 

C.  Tenure.  In  a  limited  but  representative  study  of  tenure  of  teachers 
it  was  found  that  76  per  cent  of  teachers  in  one-room  schools  remain  in  the 
same  school  one  year  or  less;  18  per  cent  of  teachers  in  one-room  schools  re- 
main two  years;  6  per  cent  of  teachers  in  one-room  schools  remain  more  than 
two  years. 

D.  Salary.  The  average  monthly  salary  for  teachers  in  elementary  schools 
in  1920-'21  was : 

(a)  Salaries  for  men  per  month: 

One-teacher  schools   $100 .  00 

Two-or-more-teacher    schools     125.00 

Second-class  cities 142  .  50 

First-class  cities   155 .  00 

(6)  Salaries  jor  women  per  month  : 

One-teacher  schools    $94 .  16 

Two-or-more-teacher  schools   102 .  40 

Second-class  cities    115.00 

First-class  cities   122.18 

(c)  Salaries  for  women  per  year: 

One-teacher  schools    $687 .  36 

Two-or-more-teacher  schools   885 .  76 

Second-class   cities    1,035.00 

First-class  cities    1,099 .  62 


Data  Bearing  Upon  Recommendations. 


15 


Chart  16.   Percentage  of  teachers  with  less  than  high-school  training  or  with 
no  training  beyond  high  school,  in  elementary  grades,  Kansas,  1920-21. 

80% 


One-teacher  schools. 


Village  schools. 


31% 


Cities  second  class. 


52% 


22% 
Cities  first  class. 


Chart  17.   Average    yc 


One-teacher  schools. 


Village  schools. 


Ill 
Second-class  cities. 


Illllllllllllllllllllllllll 
First-class  cities 


arly    salary    for    women,    Kansas    elementary 
schools',  1920-'21 


76  State  School  Code  Corn-mission. 


X.    NATIONAL  STANDING  OF  THE  KANSAS  SCHOOL 

SYSTEM. 

A.  According  to  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  study,  which  compared  the 
school  systems  of  the  several  states  in  ten  essential  items,  Kansas  was  found 
to  rank  as  follows  among  the  forty-eight  states  and  territories  and  the  District 
of  Columbia : 

In  1890  Kansas  stood  as  the  21st. 

In  1900  Kansas  stood  as  the  31st. 

In  1910  Kansas  stood  as  the  24th. 

In  1918  Kansas  stood  as  the  26th. 

In  1918  Kansas  ranked  in  the  ten  items  as  follows:  Kansat 

rank. 

1.  Per  cent  of  school  population  attending  school  daily 20 

2.  Average  days  attended  by  each  child  of  school  age , 18 

3.  Average  number  of  days  schools  were  kept  open    15 

4.  Per  cent  that  high-school  attendance  was  of  total  attendance 3 

5.  Per  cent  of  boys  attending  high  school  compared  with  girls 36 

6.  Average   expenditure   per   child   attending 22 

7.  Average  expenditure  per  child  of  school  age 22 

8.  Average   expenditure   per   teacher   employed 28 

9.  Expenditure  per  pupil  for  purposes  other  than  teachers'   salaries 19 

10.  Expenditure   per  teacher  for  salaries 31 

It  will  be  observed  that  Kansas  ranks  very  high  in  high-school  attendance, 
but  low  in  other  points  having  to  do  more  with  elementary  schools. 


□ 


olTY  of  CALIFORNIA 


Gaylord  Bros 


P 


>.¥ 


^ 


FVV 


J[\ 


J  'Jt: 


iv 


